The Roswell Gang
by Midnight-Apple Blossom
Summary: Modern-day story. Zelda and Sheik become entwined in a plot that involved a dangerous kidnapper, a rusty locket, and ancient Deku ruins.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: I know this seems really random, unrelated, and confusing, but it will make sense when it is over.

_Wouldn't it be horrible?_

_I mean... Wouldn't it be horrible, to be like them?_

_Dreamless..._

_Emotionless..._

_Thoughtless..._

_Almost like the living dead..._

_Wouldn't it be awful to look like that?_


	2. Chapter 1: Zelda Royale

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: AAAAH I FORGOT TO GIVE CREDIT!!! I give FULL credit to Principessa Dell'Opera, because she gave me the original idea to do this!! (BTW- Zelda's POV)

_I've always been scared of heights._

_Not that I let anyone know._

_That would _totally _kill my cheer career._

_And, yeah, I'm okay at school, but I'm mainly_

_depending on cheer and track to get me_

_to college._

_Anyways, I'm just a normal girl with money,_

_looks, and talent, so bug the hell off, okay?_

_FRIDAY, JANUARY 9TH, 2009_

_Five, six, seven, eight! WOO! _I think, keeping my arms in a tight V above my head. I try not too hard what to think if I fall. Our four yell leaders are at the base, each holding a foot in the way they were taught at camp. Those four are holding up Malon and some brunette I don't really know or care for. Both of them have one of my feet, and I'm at the top of our little mini-pyramid. The others are skipping around, cheering and clapping in sync.

_Who's that? _I think. How unusual, for someone to be sitting in the crowd during cheer practice. Is that even allowed? He's strange looking. I don't know what to describe it, or say what exactly makes him look strange, but there's just something... odd. Suddenly, there's this loud beeping. I cry out, lose my balance, and topple off backwards.

My eyes snap open.

"Stupid alarm," I grumble, meandering across my room to my desk. I placed my alarm over across the room because if it were within distance of my arm, I would just turn it off and wouldn't actually get out of bed.

Is it really already six? It feels like my head just hit the pillow. Blergh. I hate these mornings. And to top it off my head feels like it's about to explode.

I walk across my baby-pink carpeting and into my tiled bathroom. I wash my face and apply my makeup. Because it is game day, I put on my cheer uniform. The skirt is pleated and flatteringly fits my shape. I'm wearing white under armor and a matching top. The top is tight, and has silver stripes running across it and the word "lions" emblazoned on the chest. Some of the freshman and sophomores complain about looking like sluts because they're so tight. I told them if they weren't fat, it wouldn't look bad on them and they wouldn't have this problem. They shut up after that.

By the time I finish curling my hair and applying my makeup, it's nearly seven. I walk downstairs, keeping my chin high. I make it to the living room, where Maya (our maid) has breakfast on the bar. I sit alone on the barstool and eat my bagel in silence. Oh well. I'd rather eat alone. The only other people home are Aryll and Maya. Maya's probably off doing laundry or something. Aryll's probably still sleeping. She doesn't wake up until like seven thirty. She does not give a care about her appearance. This drives me crazy. And it doesn't matter she's only ten, either. I was doing my makeup before I was her age.

Mom's... gleh. Who likes moms, anyway? And Dad is always at work. Dad's a cop, and Mom's a brain surgeon. She likes to yell at me because I didn't inherit her genes. I respond to that with "I'm glad I didn't inherit your genes. You're ugly."

And it's true, too! She's _fat! _And she's got the tiniest eyes I have ever seen! Not that I can see them that well, anyway. Her face is too puffy. I think they're brown. Not quite sure on that one.

I leave my cream-cheesey mess from my bagel on the counter. Maya'll clean it up later. I quickly brush my teeth and then head out to my car with my schoolbag, cheer bag, and purse thrown over my shoulders. I don't know what kind of car it is. It's sleek, new, expensive, and drives fast. That's all I care about.

"Barbie doll," I hear somebody mutter as I walk by.

"Slut," somebody murmurs as I pass them in the hall.

_Jealous, much? _I think, pushing open homeroom's doors. I'm here right on time, like usual. I've barely taken my seat when the bell rings. No sooner than that has _he _come cruising into class.

"Sorry I'm late," he says, his white teeth flashing and his greasy blonde hair pushed back. He's got it cut into this old, old style that nobody wears anymore. Like, it's longer in the front and short in the back. He's wearing and old white shirt and jeans, both worn away in places and with grease spots on them. He's got a black leather jacket on and a chain hanging from his belt loops. I practically hear half of the girls swoon. I roll my eyes. Who could fall for a greaseball like him? Truthfully, I despise those kinds of people. I mean, for Goddesses' sake, how hard is it to wash your clothes every once in a while? Yuck. And lucky me, guess who sits right behind me?

"Have a seat, Mr. Finlay," says the teacher tiredly. He checks the clock. "I guess I can't count you absent yet, the tardy bell has yet to ring." No sooner had the words been out did the bell rang. "You're a lucky boy. Go sit down."

As soon as Link sits down behind me, I at least try to pay attention. I don't _really. _What's the point when you can get someone to do the work for you later?

I feel a pen poke the back of my neck. I don't move. If I move, it will just give him the satisfaction that he got under my skin. He weaves his pen through my curls and I can feel him doodling on my skin.

"Quit it!" I hiss, sitting up ramrod straight.

"Gee, Miss Priss," Link says. I ignore this. I'm used to people calling me these things.

"You're just jealous. Can't you afford to wash your hair every once in a grand while?"

Link fake-gasps. "I'm offended."

"Oh," I'm about to tell him off, when the teacher turns around and scolds us. Link chuckles when he begins drawing on the blackboard, but he leaves me alone the rest of class.

Thankfully, he leaves me alone after math. Math is the only class I have with that kid, and I'm seriously considering transferring out of that class. I almost did, but that would jack up my schedule, and, what's the point? I would just have to re-memorize everything, and blegh.

It's not until lunch, when I'm sitting with all my cheer buddies, do I hear the story.

"Did you hear about that Mido kid?" says Fado.

"No," I say, brushing my hair out of my face. "What happened?"

"No one knows," Fado tells all of us. "He just disappeared."

"When was this?" someone asks. I'm not really paying much attention. Deciding which foods are okay to eat and which ones will make you fat is a task that requires much concentration.

"Just last night."

"And how do you know about it so well?" asks Jesse, one of the yell leaders.

"He's my neighbor. Well, was."

"Just because he's no longer there doesn't mean that he's dead," pipes up one of the freshman.

"Would you guys shut up for a moment, my head feels like it's going to explode," I say. My headache from this morning has still not gone away. They're all quiet for a moment.

"Bitch," mutters one of the yell leaders.

"Thank you," I tell him. You're supposed to always be fierce. If I let the little comments get to me, how would anyone respect me? Even if some of them don't like me much, they still all respect me. And that goes for the whole school. It's pretty sweet.

Oh, have I not introduced myself? It's just that, everyone already knows me. When you're a cheerleader, the whole world kinda knows you and is always up in your business.

I'm Zelda Royale. I'm a rich girl, and I get called a preppy whore a lot. I'd rather be a preppy whore than a wannabe, though, so life is good. I'm a junior at Hyrule High and today is game day.

After school I go home and fix my makeup. I have this glitter powder stuff me and my friend and fellow cheerleader Malon put on every day before a game. Malon's over now, as a matter of fact. Malon fixes my eyes first. Before anything else she lies down a coat of lavender eye shadow around my eye, clear up to my eyebrow. Then she puts on a layer of sparkles. I like sparkles. A lot. They draw out the colors from my eye (a bunch of different shades of blue) and make them pop. They grab the crowd's attention and that's what cheerleaders are supposed to do, right? And, it's been known to distract a basketball player or two. Or maybe that's just naturally me.

People think I'm vain. I'm just confident.

Anyway, I fix Malon's eyes and then we go to the very boring and average game. It is not exciting in the slightest, except for maybe the other team. Hyrule High sucks. We used to be good, back in the beginning of the 2000's. They say we went undefeated in all sports. Even the Scholar's Bowl. I'm surprised I even remembered that.

It's at half time the stunt I've been dreading comes around. The band geeks are playing some old rock song, and Fado's doing back hand springs in front of us. I take a breath, give a big, fake smile, and do the stunt I've been dreading.

"FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT!" I shout. And then, I'm at the top of the pyramid. I keep my arms in a tight V above my head. The crowd whoops and hollers. I keep that fake smile and scan the crowd.

And it's so startling it knocks that fake smile clean off my face. The boy from my dreams is sitting right there, staring at me. He's the only one sitting in the crowd. The others are on their feet, clapping and smiling. He doesn't even smile at me. Suddenly, I have a very, very strange sensation in me. I have this horrible headache, and then it feels like there's a tube shoved down my throat and it's sucking out the very soul of me. I squeeze my eyes shut, and the sensation passes. I open my eyes back up and am very, very scared to find that I'm suddenly sitting in the bleachers, staring up at myself on the pyramid. I look at me (I'm getting a headache...) with supreme confusion, and then I suddenly lose my balance and topple off the back of the pyramid.


	3. Chapter 2: Sheik Baldwin

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything LoZ related.**

A/N: I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but I am aware of the fact that Aryll is actually Link's sister. It just makes more sense (as the story progresses...) if Aryll is Zelda's sister. And, the description may be completely off, because I do not have any of the games in which Aryll is present. I only know of her existence through other fan fictions.

Also, the chapters for this fic are going to be a bit different. First off, we get laptops for school and I didn't have wireless internet at home and so I wrote "The Phoenix" on my home computer. For Christmas, I got a router (YAAAY) and so I will be writing "The Roswell Gang" and others on my laptop (at least until summer when I have to give it back... :( ) Anyways, how I measured the length of "The Phoenix" would be six pages, give or take a few paragraphs. This will be a bit different. There is a very long explanation that I don't really want to get into, but what I'm doing now is uploading a page with like one word on it to , and writing the story from the document manager. It is quite a bit harder to get the length of the chapters long enough/short enough (although I haven't had that problem yet).

Anywho, this is from Sheik's POV.

_I always thought that there_

_was something different about me._

_You know, besides the obsession with_

_video games and Skittles._

_I never thought it'd actually _happen _though._

_SATURDAY, JANUARY 10TH, 2009_

I want some Skittles.

Skittles sound good.

Why, Skittles, you ask?

Skittles are freaking awesome. They taste... like the rainbow. Did you know you can taste the rainbow?

_Holy cow, _I think. _How hard did I hit my head? And _why _did I hit my head? Nah, that's got to be just a dream, _I think to myself. I move my arm to roll over, and then my eyes snap wide open. I'm not in my bed. I'm in some really, really comfortable bed with shiny hot pink bedding and shaggy pillows. I raise an eyebrow and look around the room, not moving. The carpet is baby-pink. The walls are hot pink with baby-pink circles painted on them. There's a laundry basket with a cheerleading uniform inside it. And, against the wall, is a dresser the same colors and design as the walls. There's a huge mirror on it. The excessive amount of pink is making me feel like I'm going to throw up.

Why the hell am I in a girl's room?

Why the _hell _have I never seen this room before?

I sit up. A figure in the mirror sits up too, mimicking my exact movements. I freeze. So does the girl in the mirror. I raise my hand and touch the side of my face, and, to no surprise, does the girl in the mirror as well. I curse and throw the covers off of me. I slide off the end of the bed and feel a massive head rush. And that's not the only thing. I feel my new hair rushing down my back. Oh, Goddesses... I stand in front of my mirror.

I suddenly have tan skin, despite it's February. I have bleach blonde hair that was curly but is now kinda curlyish flatish. I've got makeup smeared on my face and I'm wearing a light pink nightgown.

Why the _hell _am I Zelda Royale?

Zelda is the school's Queen. She's got favor with all of the teachers. She's got money. She's the cheerleading captain because none of the seniors made it. She looks extremely fake. And now, apparently, I am Zelda.

This has to be a dream. It's the only explanation.

So, this being a dream, I should go and find my house. Logically, (not saying any of this is logical in the first place) shouldn't Zelda be in _my _body? Sure, I can't stand the girl, but I don't want her soul roaming around the world aimlessly and my body wandering around like a zombie. That would not be good. She'd haunt me for all eternity.

I scan the room. Surely the rich girl must have some kind of phone lying around here somewhere.

It only takes a few moments before I see an expensive cell phone just lying on the dresser. I pick it up and dial my cell phone. Surely she'd open it, see the caller ID, recognize her number, and answer... I smile when the line clicks on.

"Hello?" comes my voice. Whoa. This is weird. Listening to myself talk. I sound... scared. "Who is this?"

"Hello," I say. I cringe. My voice is higher than I'm used to. This is a guy's worst dream, being the exact opposite of manly. "Zelda?" There is a pause.

"Yes?" she says. My voice sounds like I'm about to go off and start screaming.

"Where are you?"

There's another pause, before, "At your house, I guess. Your friends took me here."

Oh. The twins. I'd forgotten about them. They'd practically dragged me to the game. Geeks like us hate basketball games. Those are for the preps. The twins only wanted to go because they were under some illusion they would be able to pick up chicks.

"Where are you in the house?" I ask.

"Your room."

"Where are your keys?" I say. There is a pause.

"They should be on my dresser," she says through gritted teeth, "If you get _one scratch-_"

I hang up the phone. I'm a good driver. The real problem is getting past her parents. I walk over to her dresser and pick the keys up. That was easy. Now...

I tiptoe down the stairs. The house is really quiet. Is this normal? I always pictured Zelda Royale's house as a party house. Instead, it's deathly quiet. All the same I walk down the stairs as quietly as I can manage. The only form of human life is a little blonde-headed girl seated on the huge sofa and watching TV.

"Zelda?" she says excitedly, turning around. She looks exactly like Zelda, but the little one's eyes are emerald green instead of sapphire blue.

"Hey," I say awkwardly. I don't know her name. Or the relation.

"You do remember me, don't you?" the girl says. "You hit your head pretty hard..."

"Actually, everything is a bit fuzzy..." I say. Ha. What an understatement _that _is.

"I'm Aryll," the girl says. "Your sister?"

I make a face, like I'm trying to remember.

"Oh, yeah!" I say. A smile breaks out on the little girl's face. She has braces. She's like, ten, and she already has braces? This family's weird. "Aryll, I'm going to the store. I'll be back in a bit."

"You're going out looking out like _that?_" Aryll says.

"Well, yeah," I say. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Aryll says, turning back to the TV. I shrug and exit the house. That was way easier.

I make it to my house easily. Finding Zelda's car was no big deal. She's the only one at school (possibly in the whole town) who owns a red Ferrari. I've never driven a car this nice before. Like, ever. I own this rink-a-dink jeep that my dad used to drive. It's not a bad car, really, it's just always in the shop. By "it's always in the shop", I mean "I'm always working on it in the garage". You can see we don't even really have enough money to take it to a mechanic. Good thing for the twins.

When I pull into my house, Zelda is seated on the porch. It's a weird feeling, seeing yourself sitting on the porch, cross-legged and with your arms crossed. I look like a total pansy. I roll down the window.

"Get in," I call.

"Ohh, no," she says, throwing open the screen door and stomping over to her car. "Get. Out. Of. My. Car."

"Oh my Goddesses, you're making me look like such a diva," I say. I still feel very awkward, hearing my voice coming out in a female pitch. I've given up on the "it's-just-a-dream" thing. This is an all-out nightmare.

"If you don't get out of my car, I swear to Goddesses-"

"What, call the cops on me? This is _my _car, remember?" I say. My hands are clenched in fists at my sides, and I kind of think Zelda's going to hit me. "If you're gonna hit me, do it now. I'll just call 911 and we'll solve this that way."

"Such an asshole," Zelda says, stomping around, climbing in the passenger seat, and slamming the door shut. She buckles her seat belt, crosses her arms, and does this pout thing. I seriously look like such a pansy right now, I want to smack myself. "Where are we going?" Zelda fires.

"Well, I was planning on just cruising around until I woke up."

"Can't you see, this isn't a dream?!" Zelda says. "And WATCH THAT MAILBOX!"

"Would you chill out, I've backed out of this driveway hundreds of times before," I say. Suddenly something clicks.

"Did you change my clothes?" I say, amused. I'm not wearing the same stuff I was wearing last night. She's got me dressed in this button-up green and white shirt that Mom made me wear on picture day. My usual regalia consists of tee shirts from JC Penny's with my favorite bands on them. I'm into classic rock, not that crap that's on the radio now. "What am I _wearing?_"

"I found it in the back of your closet. It looks way better than everything else," she says awkwardly.

"The fact still stands. _Why _did you change my clothes?" I say. And yes, I am very peeved.

"Why didn't you change _mine?_" Zelda shrieks. "I'm in a nightgown, for Goddesses' sake! My makeup is smeared everywhere and my hair is flat! What were you thinking?!"

"Would you _shut up _for a minute?" I say. "My voice isn't supposed to go that high!"

With a dissatisfied "hmph" that I cringe at, Zelda crosses my arms and stares out the window. I steal a look at myself and I crack up laughing.

"What?" Zelda demands, glaring at me. I shake my head. "Who are you? I don't even know your name!"

"Sheik Baldwin," I say, thrusting my hand out towards... me. Zelda looks at me incredulously.

"Are you kidding me?! Keep your eyes on the road!"

"Shake my hand, or I swear to Goddesses I'll send us both careening into the ditch," I say, faking a look of ultimate seriousness. Zelda looks at me, fear in her (my?) eyes, and shakes her (my?) hand. It's very strange, introducing yourself to yourself. "I'm a junior at Hyrule High, like you."

"I've never heard of you," Zelda says, crossing her arms.

"Your manners are going to carry you far in life," I say sarcastically. Zelda mutters something. "What?" I say.

"Jealous," she says quietly. "You're just jealous."

"You have a lot to learn," I say, pulling into a tiny, gravelly driveway. "Oh good, we're here."

"Where is here?" Zelda asks.

"You'll see," I say, exiting her car, pocketing her keys, and locking the doors. I close it, and walk across the splintered walk to get to the front door. I knock three times, Zelda's masculine hands clinging to my feminine arm. I chuckle at the situation before letting myself in.


	4. Chapter 3: Zelda Royale

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: ...bleerrghhhh anyone know anything about what a gingivectomy is? Because guess what lucky me gets to have. . (BTW- Zelda's POV)

_I never believed in these kinds of_

_things before. Like, ever._

_Well, I believed in Santa Claus._

_And the Easter Bunny._

_And... well, you know._

_But never anything like this._

_This is totally unrealistic and... surreal._

_SATURDAY, JANUARY 10TH, 2009_

I'm holding onto Sheik's arm as we walk into the tiny house. I'm scared of these places. This is like the type of place that Link Finlay would live. Yuck.

Everything is cluttered over the wooden floor, so that we kind of have to hop over the stuff and make our own path. There's a layer of filth and dust over everything. It looks like a pig sty.

"What is that smell?" I say.

"That would be incense," Sheik tells me. Or, I tell myself. Goddesses, this is _way _too confusing.

"It hurts my nose," I complain. Oh, why can't I just be me, and at home? "Why are we here?"

"Impa?" Sheik calls.

"Back porch," comes a cracky, cigarettey-sounding voice. Sheik leads me through the house and pushes open a screen door. We go through and I detach myself from him. The back porch is just as filthy as the house. It still reeks of incense and... I don't know, it just smells HORRIBLE. There's two wicker chairs and a table with an ashtray and the thing you put the incense in to burn it. The whole porch is screened in. One of the wicker chairs is occupied by this wrinkly, old Indian lady with a crocheted blanket, a ball of yarn, and a crochet needle.

"You can sit down," Sheik says politely. I push some crap off of the open wicker chair and sit down tentatively in it.

"What is it, Sheik?" the Indian asks, looking at me. I stare back with wide eyes, and look up at Sheik/me.

"We have a problem," Sheik says. "I'm Sheik."

"So who are you?" the Indian asks, looking at me.

"I'm Zelda Royale," I say.

"You look like Sheik Baldwin to me," the Indian says.

"I'm Sheik," says Sheik.

"I'm Zelda," I say. The Indian looks back and forth at us, confused

"Okay. Nice to meet you, Shei-Zel-... nice you meet you. I'm Impa," says the Indian.

"This is our problem..." Sheik says. He explains what happened the night before at the game. The sensation that the soul was being sucked out, the headache, everything was the same as it was for me. Impa looks very confused by the time he's finished.

"Will you... Explain that again?" she says.

"I know it's a bit confusing," Sheik says, "but-"

"It's not that, this sounds just like a story I know."

"Good, that's why we came," Sheik says. He explains the story again. We all sit quietly while Impa thinks.

"Have you ever heard of the Roswellitia Group?"

Sheik and I shake our heads.

"Very well," Impa says, putting her blanket aside and leaning towards us slightly. "This happened a very, very long time ago. There was a girl. She had hair as golden as the sun, eyes as blue as the sky, and skin as fair as the clouds. Her beauty was known far and wide. She was a princess, back when this area was a monarchy. She had many hidden powers. There was a period of terrible, terrible years known as the Dark Period. During this time the Princess went into hiding, because the castle was under siege and the great Hyrule Castle Town was thrust in a dark and horrific age. During her seven years in hiding she discovered she could transform her appearance. Over the years she slowly modified this power, and eventually came to the point where she could transform into a male. The male had a different personality than the princess, and when she turned into he it was as if she were a different person. She used this power plenty of times throughout the years. After the Dark Period finished, the Golden Era arose. But, all good things have an ending. At the peak of adulthood is when the princess finally met her fate. At the age of twenty-five, a menace kidnapped her and tortured her beyond belief. He went into the Spirit Realm, and within the princess were now two spirits, the spirit of the man she sometimes used and her own spirit. The kidnapper grabbed her spirit with one hand, and with the other grabbed the spirit of the man. He ripped them apart, and with an agonizing scream, they were no longer the same person." Me and Sheik stare at her, and so she continues. "The Princess lived her life alone after that, because the man she would turn into was part of her soul. She was broken and never quite whole again. You know, when two lovers meet and spend their lives together, and then one of them meets a horrific end? You know the one left behind wishes he or she were dead, and always looks somewhat hollow? That was how the Princess was. She died shortly after, when the castle was besieged and she could hardly put up a fight to save her own life. It is rumored that the souls of the Princess and the man are still in living, breathing humans and always have been. If you search through the records of time you will find hints and reports of events sounding suspiciously as if two Hylians, a boy and a girl, could switch back and forth. The names have been forgotten over time, except for the demon that tore the Princess apart. His name was never quite known, but they call him and he calls himself Glaurok. You see, while the souls of the Princess and the man she turned into live on in separate lives, dying and reincarnating (A/N: I do not believe in reincarnation), the soul of Glaurok has lived on and on, has seen time unfold before his very eyes. Glaurok is his true name, but he goes by many others. Ganon... Vaati..."

"The guys from history class," Sheik says.

"Yes," says Impa. "Historians believe in no such things, but legend-keepers such as myself do. But the story is not over. You know, I was telling you that the spirits of the Princess and the man were reincarnated?"

"Yes," Sheik says.

"There are more legends," Impa says, "about the Roswellitia Group."

"Roswelita?" Sheik says.

"Roswellitia," Impa corrects. She pronounces it like rahz-WELL-it-tee-uh. "That is what they called themselves. They consisted of a boy and a girl, who were the leaders. They had the ability, although it was hidden from others, to switch back and forth at their own will. The sexes of the other two switch over time, but the leaders are always the boy and girl. The girl always resembles the Princess and the boy always has a unique, unnamable quality about him. Anyway, there are four of them. The third is a genius. He or she is usually the developer of the plan of action and is weak. The fourth is immeasurably strong, and is part of the group for the strength. The group is not always in time, and was never around before the Princess and the man story, but appearances have been traced to various revolutions and times of darkness throughout Hyrule."

"What are you saying?" Sheik asks.

"I think you two, if you are who you say you are, are indeed the leaders of the Roswellitia Group," says Impa. "But only if you believe in legends." She picks up her blanket and ball of yarn and begins to stitch.

"You said they had the ability to switch back," I say, a light bulb lighting up in my head.

"It is not understood how this is managed, but, yes," Impa says.

"Thanks, Impa," Sheik says. "We've got stuff to do. Thanks for your help."

"Anytime, my boy," Impa says. Sheik and I walk out of the house. We get seated in the car (I'm in the passenger seat... the bastard has my keys) and I stare out the window thoughtfully.

"Zelda, look at me," Sheik says.

"Why?" I demand, not moving an inch. My neck suddenly feels stiff and prickly.

"Do you want me to switch us back or not?" Sheik says. I turn quickly and stare into my own blue eyes. We wait for a second and Sheik seems very focused and serious. Then, the headache is back and it feels like everything in me is being sucked out. I shut my eyes, and then I open them. I'm suddenly in the driver's seat, staring back at Sheik.

"How did you-?! What the-?!" I say, incapable of making out words. "_Why didn't you do that sooner?!_"

Sheik looks at me. First, he looked happy and victorious. Now, he looks ticked off. There's a second when I feel a slight headache, and then suddenly I'm back in the passenger seat staring at myself.

"SHEIK BALDWIN!"

"Zelda, you are a selfish, annoying, bitch who only cares about herself," Sheik says. "And you know what? I'm not jealous, so don't even try to tell yourself that. And, you know what else? I'm staying like this. I am going to ruin your life, Zelda Royale. I told you manners would carry you far. Well, they carried you to Impa's house, and they won't carry you much further than that. Get out of my car."

I don't say anything. I'm flabbergasted.

"And, I swear to Goddesses, I'll get out and scream that you're trying to steal my car and do far worse," Sheik tells me. "You could go to jail. Or walk. Your choice."


	5. Chapter 4: Sheik Baldwin

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: Hoo, it's been a hectic week. Let's see I have a stalker, a crazy/bipolar/possibly menopausal teacher, and my feet feel like they're about to fall off. Yaaaay! Anyways, this is from Sheik's POV.

_I've never had a problem like_

_this before._

_People don't usually attack me._

_They don't really attack seventeen year old _

_guys. But, I'm not a seventeen year old_

_guy anymore._

_Isn't _that_ a disgusting thought?_

_SATURDAY, JANUARY 10TH, 2009_

I laugh, watching Impa's house disappear in my rearview mirror. Of course, she chose to walk.

I'm not really a mean person. I just don't like stuck-up preps. I'm Hylian, and my tolerance level only goes so far.

Of course, I don't _really _plan to stay in her body forever. Just long enough to make her wish that she wasn't so... conceited? Preppy? Both? I don't know. All I know is I can't stand the girl. Not unless she makes a drastic change. And, by the time I'm done with her, she might actually make that change.

Ah, what to do, what to do. I could chop off all of these blonde curls. I could take all of that wonderful money in her account and blow it all on something stupid. Or give it to charity. I'm kind of leaning towards the charity one.

And the reputation. I could show up without makeup and the hair in a crazy way. I don't know much about hair, but a brush and a can of hair spray can go pretty far.

I could just isolate her from her friends so she was forced to be nice. Yeah, I could get rid of the makeup, clothes, money, etc., and then be even meaner than usual to her "friends". The reason "friends" is in quotations is because it is a well-known fact Zelda's a bitch and no one likes her. I gave her a chance, because I didn't really know her, and she blew it. I feel kind of sorry for her, in a way. I may not have many friends but I'd rather have real friends like the twins than fake friends that talk about you as soon as you turn around. Geek friends are better than fake friends.

You know, I have no idea where I'm going. I could find my house, but I don't actually know where Zelda lives. Uhh, Pine Drive?

Crap.

I can't think of anything else to do, so I pull over into the park. I'm still in the ghetto part of town, and the park is terrible. The paint is peeling and most of the swings on the swing set are broken. In the center of the tiny park is a memorial to those who died in the war. There's graffiti painted all over it. Classy, huh?

I walk over to the play house thing. I'm not sure what exactly it is. It's like a tree house, kind of, but it's supported on two poles and only leaning into the tree. There's a rope ladder for the braver kids and a metal one for the more timid ones. I haven't been to this park in ages, and I haven't tried to climb into this tree house in a long time, either. Not in my body. Zelda weighs less than me, so this might work. And if I get a broken arm or something (the quality of this is not very good... It's rotting, but I think it just might hold Zelda's weight) it's not my problem. I'll just switch back.

I stare at the ladders for a moment, trying to decide which one would make for an easier climb. The rope one is rotting and frayed and I don't trust it. I put my hands on the rusty, cold ladder and begin to climb.

I make it a few feet off the ground and there's a metal groan. I suddenly shake back and forth. Before I can think of what to do I fall to the ground, landing hard on my back and with a metal ladder on top of me. I push it off and roll up to a sitting position. The top rung has splintered wood attached to it, and I gather that the wood was rotting away and the ladder fell. I tentatively shift my weight to the rope ladder, testing to see if it will break. Thankfully it doesn't, so I climb it. I place my unnaturally tanned hands on the wooden floor and climb up into the tree/pole/wood/house thing. I stand up in it. It used to be something special, before the town ran out of money and people stopped caring enough to take care of it. I'm pleased to find the thing can still support my weight.

It's pretty spacious. Like I said, it used to be pretty cool. It's got a roof. When I was a kid, this whole place used to be fresh and not hazardous. Now, it's rotting and smells kind of like a wet dog. Nasty.

I hear somebody outside and my ears perk up. People never came here. Ever. The only people who occasionally showed up were the druggies who hid their stuff here and smoked it. But these people don't sound like druggies. This can only mean trouble. I stay very still and try not to make noise. It's only a moment before a greasy face pops up by the door. He's got shaggy brown hair, a black beanie hat, a black trench coat, and grease marks all over his face. I notice his teeth are rotting when he smiles crookedly at me.

"Hey, honey," he says.

"'Honey'?" I say, forgetting I'm in Zelda's body. The guy chuckles, and then comes up the rest of the way. I'm trying to think of what to do. I could kick that wall, but I'd probably wind up breaking my foot. I could take a dive out the window, but I'm not sure how I would fit. That thing is _tiny. _The guy takes a step towards me. "Back off," I say menacingly. That would come out a lot scarier if I had my own voice and not Zelda's. The guy just laughs at me.

"Sweetie, why are you in your pajamas?" he asks me, putting a greasy hand on my arm. I leap back. I'm still in the nightgown, wearing a robe I'd thrown on as I'd left the room, and somebody's shoes that didn't quite fit right. The keys to Zelda's car are in my pocket. "You do realize it's three, right?"

That sounds about right. I probably woke about noon (bumps on head kind of make you tired) and then added in with the time that me and Zelda were at Impa's, it's probably around three.

"Get away from me," I say.

"Is that your car out there?" the guy asks me. He reaches out to touch me, and I punch at his hand. He grabs my wrist as quick as a flash and grabs my other hand as well. Before I really know what's happened he's got me pinned against the wall. My face is shoved in his coat and all I can smell is his nasty breath.

"Get away from me!" I shout. He maneuvers my arm around so he's got it behind my back and against the wall. With him pressing against me I can't move away from myself, and it's too tight to get my arm out. His hand lingers on the small of my back, and then he draws it out. I try to stamp down my foot, so he plants both of his on top of mine.

"Don't move," he whispers. "Feel this?"

I hiss a curse word. He chuckles and grabs my free hand. He shoves it to his side pocket, away from any hazardous areas. For that I am grateful. I am not so happy however when I feel cold metal.

"That'd be a gun, sweetheart, and I've got a switchblade in my other pocket. Do not make a sound or movement, unless I make you, or I will kill you. If you don't think I could draw the gun fast enough, it doesn't matter, you're probably right. But the gun is not the only thing that I can kill you with. I could smother you right now, if I choose to. I could reach out and strangle you so fast you wouldn't know what was coming. You're only a teenage girl, I can easily overpower you."

If I were Sheik, I could take this guy easy. But nooo, I decided to take over Miss Priss for a day or two. I think over my options. He's got me any way you slice it. The only thing to do is pray for help.

"Fine," I hiss. He chuckles, and then his face bends towards mine. _This is so wrong, this is so wrong, this is so wrong, _I think over and over. He lightly kisses my jawbone, and I feel the hairs on the back of my neck rise. This is against everything I've ever learned, and it's even worse because I'm really a guy. In a girl body, but still a guy. This guy moves our hands out of his pocket and into my robe pocket. He gropes around (not feeling anything, I get the feeling he's searching through my pockets for money), and then squeezes his hand so tightly I feel like shouting out. He found my keys. He chuckles, takes the keys out, and slips them in his pocket. He looks at me, chuckles again, and then kisses my forehead. I shiver.

It's at that moment all hell breaks loose. There's the sound of bone crunching, and then the guy is no longer in front of me. I gasp as I can breathe freely again. He's on the ground, struggling to get up. There's another guy in here, but I don't get a very good look of his face. I just see him clock the other guy in the side of the head. The other guy drops to the floor, knocked out. The newcomer turns to me, and looks hesitant about approaching me.

"Are you okay?" he says. I look at him. Oh, I know who this is. It's Link Finlay.

"Yeah," I say. "He has my keys. I don't want to touch him."

"Which pocket?" Link asks.

"His right front one," I say. Link reaches into the pocket and pulls out Zelda's keys.

"These them?" he says, extending them to me.

"Yeah," I say, accepting them. "Thanks."

"Did he..." Link asks.

"No," I say quickly.

"Okay," he says, relieved. "I was going to have to beat him to a bloody pulp if he had."

"Um. Thanks," I say. What else am I supposed to say to that? "How'd you know I was here?"

"I live right across the street," Link says. "I stepped out on the front porch and saw that Ferrari sitting there, and you shouting 'get away from me', so I came to investigate. Good thing, too."

"Yeah. Thanks," I say. There's an awkward silence.

"So, are you going to report him?" Link asks me. I freeze. I could report him. I wish he were in jail right now. Who knows how many girls he's done this to? But if I did, that would take a lot of explaining, which Zelda wouldn't do. And I'm not too keen on staying in her body for very long. I think about it for a minute, then decide with all the trouble it would cause it wouldn't be worth it.

"No," I say reluctantly.

"No?" Link repeats.

"Yeah," I say. "I have to go," I tell him abruptly. I leave the tree house thing and descend the ladder quickly. I power walk across the playground, climb in the Ferrari, start it, and roll down the window as Link walks by back to his house. "Thanks!" I shout, pressing the gas and taking off to who knows where.


	6. Chapter 5: Zelda Royale

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: Zelda's POV.

_Close to home._

_It's not supposed to hit this close_

_to home._

_Like, you hear about these kinds of things_

_happening on TV and stuff._

_But it's not supposed to happen to those_

_around you._

_MONDAY, JANUARY 12TH, 2009_

The twins came by to pick me up. I'd never even seen the twins before that game when Sheik and I switched for the first time. They took me to Sheik's house after, but that was it. I guess they take Sheik to school whenever his junkie car isn't working right.

I'm walking to class. I'm concentrating on ruining Sheik's life. It is not going too well so far.

I went through his closet looking for something that he would NOT wear. Like, those too-tight pants from three years ago that haven't found their way to the trash can yet. Sheik actually cleans out his closet, and eventually I gave up. I went to his mom and dad's room (strangely empty, not sure why) and found this plain pink shirt in his mom's closet. I don't want something too overdone, that would be too obvious that something was wrong. So I put on a pair of his jeans and his mom's shirt. When the twins got to his house to pick me up, I tried to get in.

"What are you wearing?" one of them asked me.

"What?" I said. "This isn't a problem, is it?"

"If you're in my car, it is. Go change."

"I don't want to. I'm questioning my sexuality."

"Well, you can question it all you want, but you're walking to school if you do," said the one I was arguing with. The other just snorted at me. I rolled by eyes (earning strange looks from the twins) and went back into the house, where I put on one of Sheik's shirts. I've skipped every class so far. I've just walked through the halls and then ducked in the closet and stuff. I'm wondering how next to ruin Sheik's life when I see me. My jaw drops.

I'm wearing jeans (jeans?!? What about my miniskirts?!? I didn't even know I owned jeans! Where did he get jeans?!?) and this old, old shirt I wouldn't even use for rags. It's from like the third grade when my mom made me do this thing where we had to write stories and judges would read them and decide like the best ten, and mine actually qualified. I got a tee shirt and everything. It was huge on me then, and it actually fits now. Except the lettering is peeling off and now it's grayish instead of white. _Ew. _

But it doesn't end there. I'm not wearing makeup. At all. No eye makeup, no eyeliner, no nothing. Not even blush. And my hair is flat. It's kind of wavy, but that's it. He didn't straighten it (I'm not even sure if I remember how to work one of those...) and he didn't curl it (I've done that instead of straightening since I was a sophomore).

So, it's settled. I'm going to kill him. Plain as that.

I storm over to him with the pure intention of punching his brains out when my eyes widen.

Oh, no.

He did _not._

I'm hand in hand with Link Finlay.

I stomp over to him, grab him by the ear, and drag him off in the hallway. Everyone watches with wide eyes. _Keep watching, _I think. _This is the _last _time you will see Zelda Royale dragged off by the ear._

"What the-" Sheik says, smacking my hand away. I think it's pretty odd to find myself glaring down at myself. "What are you _doing?_"

"Me? What am _I _doing?" I say, my voice rising.

"Shh, Zelda," Sheik tells me, glaring up at me.

"What are you wearing?" I demand.

"I don't see anything wrong with it," Sheik says innocently.

"Ha!" I snort. "At least I'm dressed normally!" I don't mention the whole "questioning sexuality" thing from this morning. "And why aren't you wearing makeup? And why haven't you done anything to my hair?"

"I could have just chopped it off," Sheik says. "I thought really, really hard about it."

I could have chopped off his as well. I wish I'd thought of that before. Sheik has reddish, curly hair that hangs down by his eyes and brown eyes with gold flecks in them. There's something about him (I'm guessing his eyes) that gives him a distant, strange look. Not good or bad. Just strange. Although I'm finding the longer I know him the more I hate him.

"I hate you," I tell him.

"Hate's a strong word," he says cooly.

"That's why I use it," I say icily.

"You know, you're not helping your cause," he tells me. "If you want me to switch us back, it might be a good idea to be nice for a change."

"Or you could just be the better person and switch us," I say through my teeth.

"I used to always be the better person before I met you," he assures me. "Anyway, did you hear about the mugging?" he asks.

"What mugging?" I say.

"Some hobo tried to mug me," Sheik says. I get the feeling he's not telling me the whole truth, but I'm too mad right now to force the rest of it out of him. "Link saved me. And you were oh-so grateful, now you two are dating. Your boyfriend won't have a problem with that, right?"

"I don't have a boyfriend," I hiss.

"You do now," Sheik tells me. We glare at each other. If we weren't in public right now I... I don't even know what I'd do to him. But he'd wish he'd never met me. "Anyway, remember what Impa told us about the Roswellitia Group?" He's cut off by the ringing bell.

"Hall monitors," I say, looking for an excuse to get away.

"Nope," he tells me. "I might not get a chance to talk to you again." Sheik grabs me by the elbow and walks me down the hall to the teacher's room thing, I forget what it's called. He tentatively peeks in, and then pushes the door open and drags me in too. He closes the door ever so slightly and then opens a closet door.

"Huh-uh," I say. "No way." Sheik places his hand on my back and forces me in before I know what's happening. Then he's in there too and the door is shut. "Ugh. It smells like mothballs in here."

"You get used to it," he tells me.

"Oh? How many other girls have you snuck in here with?" I sneer.

"Very funny," Sheik says dryly. "None, as a matter of fact."

"Wouldn't surprise me," I say. "Who'd date scum like you?"

"That one hurt," he says sarcastically. "Anyway- keep your voice down, a teacher might come in- the Roswellitia Group."

"What about them?"

"You know those kidnappings and burglaries that have been going around lately?" Sheik says.

"Yes," I say. "Kind of."

"There's been a couple missing kids and a lot of stolen jewelry," he says. "I've been keeping close tabs because my neighbor was the first kid that was kidnapped. And with this mugging- I think we should put the Roswellitia Group back togeth-"

"No."

"Why not?" Sheik demands.

"Because I'm not cut out for that kind of thing," I say. "I've got enough on my plate. Cheerleading, grades, ... cheerleading..."

"Yeah," Sheik says. "But don't you think helping missing kids and finding stolen stuff is better?"

"What's going to get me to college, Sheik?" I demand. Sheik stares up at me for a moment.

"Unbelievable," he says. "You are so concerned with yourself... You amaze me. You don't even care what happened to yourself yesterday, because you're too concerned with _cheerleading. _You never fail to astound me."

"Oh, shut up," I say. "You've only known me since Friday."

"That's what gets me," Sheik says. "When I was first confronted with your... attitude I thought you were just having a really bad day or something. But I've gathered that's not it. You're just a shallow person, Zelda. You're hollow on the inside for whatever reason and I don't want anything to do with you. You're a bitch."

And then I have kind of a headache and there's a sucking feeling. Then, I'm back in my own body, staring at Sheik. I stare at him for a moment, and he stares back, waiting. He chuckles.

"No manners," he says. "Not even a thank you. Good luck in life, Zelda. I hope you find yourself someday and get a clue. I put my number in your cell phone if you ever need to talk."

And then he leaves the closet and the teacher's lounge. I'm shocked. No one's ever talked to me like that before. I blink for a moment and gather my thoughts. No way am I going back to school. I feel around in my pockets, and find my keys. It appears he's let me off the hook, no strings attached. I'm kind of shocked for a moment. I go to the office and inform the lady I'm sick and going back home. She wishes me the best of luck, signs me out, and then I go find my car.

On the way home, I'm pretty irritated. Sheik's words _stung. _I do feel kind of hollow, now. I don't even know what to do to fill that hollow space. I don't like this feeling. Not one bit.

I'm surprised to see mom's car in the driveway, and even more surprised to see a police car parked in front of the house. My pulse racing and my palms suddenly sweaty, I turn off the car, pocket the keys, and dash up to the front door. I don't hesitate and swing the door open. I stomp into the house.

"Mom?" I shout. "What's with the police car?"

"Zelda?" she says, confused. "Why aren't you at school?"

"I'm sick," I say, following the sound of her voice out to the living room. Mom's on the couch, with Aryll snuggled up against her chest. Aryll doesn't look sick. This freaks me out a little bit, and even more so whenever I see the cops. One of them is in the armchair, and the other is standing in the center of the room. Dad's suited out (he's a cop too) and leaning against the wall. "What's wrong?" I say. I kind of do feel sick now. I feel like I'm burning up and like I'm going to puke.

"Honey," Mom says, "go to your room. I'll be up in a bit to explain things."

"No," I say. "Tell me now."

"Ms. Royale-" the burliest cop says.

"I've got it, Darunia," Dad tells him. He and Officer Darunia look at each other for a minute, and then Darunia nods. Dad comes over to me and takes me by the elbow. I don't even struggle when he takes me up the stairs. "Zelda, today during recess, there was a man there," he tells me. I feel sick to my stomach and my head feels like it's spinning round and round. I didn't feel this sick a minute ago. Karma? "He called to Aryll, and she came to him. He talked to her for a minute- are you okay?"

"Yeah," I say. "Continue."

"He gave her some candy, but she wouldn't eat it. He grabbed her and tried to pull her over the fence, but Aryll screamed and the teacher came running. He took off," Dad tells me. "It's a good thing Aryll didn't eat that candy. We tested it, it had a coat of chloroform over it. Do you know what that is?"

"Yeah," I say. A vision flashes over my mind of some stranger dragging Aryll along and doing bad things to her... I can see him killing her, and I feel a very strong urge to vomit. "I'm gonna go lay down," I say, struggling up the stairs. I make it to my room and shut the door. I stumble into my bathroom and vomit my guts up into the toilet. And it's like once I've started, I can't really stop. Finally, my stomach feels empty, my mouth tastes nasty, and my gut is aching. I gasp for air and place my forehead against the lid of the toilet. Gross, I know, but I can't really do much of anything else right now. I close my eyes and just concentrate on breathing. Eventually I stand, flush the toilet, rinse my mouth out, and go to sleep.

I wake up around five. I pick up my cell phone, search through my phone book and give Sheik a call.


	7. Chapter 6: Sheik Baldwin

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: Okay, later it will talk about Special Ed programs. I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the good side of Special Ed and how many aren't, so here's a quick recap: there's this Gifted program/WINGS that kids can go to since third grade. They have to take a test (just like puzzles and stuff, not like a real tests) and psychologists watch them and see how their mind works and determines if they're Gifted or not. The Gifted program (also Duke TIP, but obviously Duke TIP can't exist in this world so we're going with the Gifted program) enables students from seventh grade up to take the ACT or the SAT. I took the ACT when I was in seventh grade (although I didn't get the scores it talks about in this chapter... seventeen, blech) and sometime between now and one year from now my Gifted teacher wants me to take it again. Anyways, Sheik's POV!!!

_Who would have though it?_

_With all the books I've read and_

_the games I've played and stuff,_

_I know how these kinda things go._

_But I never thought they'd happen to ME._

_Wicked._

_TUESDAY, JANUARY 13TH, 2009_

YES! I can't believe it actually _worked!_

Yeah, I had what was going to happen planned from that morning when I woke up.

I knew I was going to act like I loved Link (shudder... I will never do that again. Between setting up Link and Zelda and that guy in the park, I've had enough gender-confusing moments for awhile). I knew this would trigger a reaction in Zelda, and I had it planned I would tell her we should put the Roswellitia Group together. Of course, I knew she wouldn't go for it. And I hoped my words would stir up some kind of forgotten emotion in her and she would, as planned, call me. However, it was purely coincidence that her sister was almost kidnapped and she got sick.

She didn't come to school today. I'm on my way to go pick her up. I got my Jeep working again, thank the Goddesses. I think this time it's fixed for good.

Watch, now that I've said that, it'll break down when I pick up Zelda.

That's what I'm doing right now. I stopped and talked with Impa after school today. She just smiled and said she knew it was going to happen. Impa really is good to talk to. She always knows what to say.

_And I just kinda like old people_, I think, putting a handful of Skittles in my mouth, listening to the music, and feeling the heater on my face. It's true, I do like old people. They always have the best stories. Ever. Like, Impa's a legend-keeper or story-teller or whatever it was she called it, and my grandparents can tell me stories from their time. I think it's really interesting. They grew up in a different world than I did.

Anyway, Impa said we needed to put the gang back together. The first and easiest one was finding the smartest person we know. I'm thinking one of the twins. They're both really, really smart.

I pull into Zelda's driveway, and she walks out to the car. She's wearing makeup and her hair is done but she doesn't look very good.

"You okay?" I ask as she climbs in the car. "You want to do this later?"

"Nah, I'm good," she says. I've noticed she hasn't been nearly as... blunt about everything as she used to be since I told her how it was. I feel kind of bad about it, actually. I'm not really a mean person. I just got really fed up and I wanted to do something for the greater good for a change.

"You want some Skittles?" I offer.

"No," she says.

"Have it your way, then," I say, funneling the rest in my mouth and backing out of the driveway. "Where to? I was thinking one of the twins."

"Do you know Saria Greenly?" Zelda asks me.

"No," I say. "Who's that?"

"She's a sophomore," Zelda says. "She's a genius. You know how some of the kids take the ACT in the fall instead of the spring?"

"Yeah."

"Well, they let her take it her seventh grade year. She passed, but she wasn't satisfied, so they let her take it again her eighth grade year. She did better, but didn't like it. So she took it her freshman year and got a perfect."

"How is that even possible?" I ask. "She couldn't've learned all the information yet!"

"She studied," Zelda says. "Either her Special Ed teacher helped her, or she used the internet, or both."

"She's way smarter than the twins," I admit. "Where's she live?"

And so Zelda instructs me to Saria's house (she knows where she lives just because, well, Zelda knows everything socially, and I think she said something about them two being in a club together and having to plan for a fundraiser or something. Not real sure. Zelda's not really talking coherently. I'm guessing she's sicker than I thought.). We get out of the car and walk up to the front door together. I knock on the door and Zelda leans against the pole on the porch.

Saria lives out by the woods, in the middle of nowhere. It's a pretty nice house, roomy and small. A girl with mouse-brown hair and green eyes answers the door. Everything about her is incredibly average, except for her eyes. Her eyes are emerald and glittering, and "wow" is all I have to say about them.

"Hello?" she says. "Zelda? Sheik?"

"Hi," I say, not quite sure how she knows my name, but pushing onward anyway, "How are you?"

"Um, great," she says. "Do you want to come in?"

"Sure," I say. Saria steps aside, and me and Zelda walk in. Saria leads us out to the kitchen and we sit down at a tiny white table with four chairs. The tiles and cabinets are white, without a speck of food or dirt on them, and the walls are sunny-yellow. There's a window above the sink that I can see the woods through. I can see a field, and then rising treetops. I think I can dimly see water sparkling back there, but I'm not too sure. "Nice land," I say.

"Thanks," Saria says. "It's belonged to my family for centuries. May I ask why you're here?"

"Well..." I say, and then I launch into the story. Zelda just kinds of sits there and look sick. I feel kind of bad for her. By the time I'm done, Saria's looking rather skeptical.

"I've heard of that legend before," she says. Somehow, this doesn't surprise me. "Can I ask you to prove it?"

"Uh, sure," I say. I switch bodies with Zelda. I can do it much faster and neither of us (well, I can't, not too sure about her) can really feel the sucking sensation or the headache that follows. Saria stares at us.

"That's it?" she says.

"Yup," I say.

"Well... Zelda," she says, looking at my body skeptically, "What club are we in together?"

"Science Club," Zelda answers automatically.

"Why were you over here last August?"

"We were planning for the fundraiser."

"Which was-?"

"Car wash."

Saria pauses. I wait breathlessly. "Those answers could be easily found out," she says. She thinks for a moment, and then stands up and declares she will be right back. She returns with a pencil and a piece of paper. "Switch back," she tells us. I obey, and watch her. "Sheik, close your eyes and turn around," she tells me. I obey, and I hear pencil against paper. I listen as she sets the pencil down and folds the paper over. "Zelda, I'm going to give you this paper," she says. "Go walk out to the living room and open it. Yell at us when you do, but don't say what I wrote down."

"Okay," Zelda says. I listen to her retreating footsteps. "Okay!" she says.

"Now, switch!" Saria says. Once more I switch bodies with Zelda. "What did the paper say?" she asks.

"It said, 'The Roswellitia Group should be called the Roswell Gang,'" Zelda answers in my voice.

"Correct," Saria says. I switch back with Zelda, and then she comes back out to the dining room. All three of us sit down. "I believe you now," Saria says.

"And I agree," I say. "'The Roswell Gang' is a lot easier to pronounce than 'The Roswellitia Group'."

"So that's what we're called, then?" Zelda says. Me and Saria nod.

Over the next few hours Saria prints off a map of Hyrule Castle Town and lays it out on the table. We look through newspapers and put X's on the houses that have been robbed or had children stolen. Saria finds a pattern; always on the North Side of town, and you take the first house robbed, move two over to the left, and one street to the south. There's only been one robbery and one kidnapping, the robbery done from someone I don't know and the kidnapping from my neighbor. We think Aryll was an isolated case because Aryll lives off track of the kidnappings and it didn't happen on a Thursday night, like every other event.

"Today's Tuesday, right?" Saria says.

"Yeah," I say. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, we've found this pattern," she says, "and I think we should test it. We should, and by we I mean you, Goddesses know I'm not cut out for this stuff, carry out a surveillance mission Thursday night on the next house. If it gets robbed or kidnapped, viola, we've cracked the code. If not, then, we'll keep thinking."

"That sounds good to me," I say, adrenaline beginning to pulse through my veins. And we haven't even really done anything yet!

"But you guys are going to have to find the fourth person of the Roswell Gang first," Saria says.

"I think I have a good idea of who it might be," I say, stealing a glance at Zelda. She gives me a horrid glare.

"You don't," she says.

"Oh, I do," I say. "Link Finlay."


	8. Chapter 7: Zelda Royale

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: Hey, readers, sorry I haven't updated lately. I've been slightly busy and I'm sick, which should mean I update more, but instead it makes me feel like crap. I'm forcing myself to sit down and do this because I am very bored and it irks me when I have an incomplete story. The RBWSRSWAE and MUYOT bothered me for awhile, but I got over that. This one, I really don't want to lose hope for. Hoo, this is going to be a long chapter. Anyway, Zelda's POV.

_You know, I actually kind of_

_think this is a really bad idea._

_I mean... it's dangerous._

_They have guns._

_They obviously have some meanness to them_

_if they kidnap children and steal stuff._

_If anything happens, I swear to _

_Goddesses I will _kill _Sheik._

_THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2009_

So... it's been two days. I'm fully better.

For awhile, it was terrible. The being sick, I mean. I was puking and dehydrated and had the flu. My head was all loopy and stuff and... yeah.

I told the maid to tell mom that I was going to a friend's house. I packed clothes in a gym bag and after cheer practice I headed over to Sheik's. We talked for awhile and practiced switching. Neither of us even really get headaches from it anymore. Just slight pressure on my forehead, like somebody placed their hand over it.

But anyway. Sheik made me dinner (I don't want to go into town with _Sheik Baldwin_), and it was actually pretty good. I didn't think Sheik was the cooking type. He made spaghetti and garlic bread, which, I guess, isn't that hard to make. After that I changed into my clothes and he changed into his black shirt and sweat pants (_totally _didn't match) and we went and got Link. I felt like shooting myself; I would rather be found dead than found hanging out with the likes of hoodlum Link Finlay and Sheik Baldwin. But I'm finding they're both actually pretty cool.

Sheik gave me hell because I was so angry when he made me date Link, but I have yet to "break up" with him.

"Do you like him?" Sheik asked me.

"I'm warming up to him," was what I'd answered.

Now, we're keeping track on the house Saria said should be the next to get robbed or kidnapped.

Link's on the back corner of the house. Sheik is on the opposite side. And me? I'm in front. How will I stay inconspicuous? Well, my hair and makeup's all done up (I did touch-up's at Sheik after practice) and I'm wearing a short skirt and tube top. It's _freezing _and I look like a prostitute but that's the plan. Prostitutes aren't uncommon around here. I'm on the bench across from the house. That's the funniest thing, because I'm the most noticeable one out of the three of us yet the one who has the least worries about getting discovered.

I have my cell out, pretending to look interested in it. We're supposed to text each other if we see anything. My phone vibrates.

_"1 New Message_

_Sheik Baldwin"_

My heart thudding, I open the message.

_"b careful"_

I close out of the message. How stupid. He's wasting time, he should be watching the house.

Ten minutes later, a man walks by me. He whistles and I look up. He's got red hair and a strange tint to his skin that suggests he's from the desert. His eyes have a weird orange color which confirms this. He's wearing khaki pants, converse sneakers, and a white shirt. He's in his twenties and does not look very threatening. At least, not like what we were looking for.

"Hello, little lady," he says. "What's your name? Can I interest you in...?"

"No, thanks," I say.

"You sure?" he asks. I smile sweetly and nod. With another look at me, he heads back down the street. I make a face at him as he walks away. I don't like how he was looking at me; I'm not a piece of meat. My phone vibrates.

_"dat guy u were talkin 2 is comin round bck"_ is what it reads. It's from Sheik.

_"k" _I answer. I disappear around back in an alley. I've got my gym bag over my shoulders. As soon as I'm out of view of the house I pull on a pair of wind pants (black with a wide white stripe and a thin pink one going up the sides) under my skirt, and then take off the skirt. I pull on a matching jacket to the wind pants. I extract a rubber band from my bag and flip my hair over. I put it in a ponytail and stand up. I'm ready for action.

_"its clear, git ovr here" _reads a message from Sheik. I put my phone in my pocket and run across the street to where Sheik is.

"Sheik?" I whisper, coming to the place where I'd seen him last. "Where-?"

"Sh!" hisses Sheik, grabbing my arm and pulling me down. "That guy that was talking to you just broke in. He-" Sheik's phone vibrates. He opens it.

_"hes comin out bck. r we followin?"_

_"ya" _Sheik answers.

"Sheik, Saria said-"

"Zelda, it'll be fine, trust me," he says. "Are you scared?"

"No," I sneer.

"Good," Sheik smirks. We sneak around the side of the house and meet up with Link. We wait, and then we see the guy that was talking to me break out a window. He's wearing a gray hoodie with white lettering that I can't quite make out. I see now why he was wearing the khakis; they have lots and lots of pockets. Every one of them is stuffed. He's got an iPod in his left hand and a long, golden locket in his right. He takes off running off of the property, and we follow.

"Split up!" Sheik says, loudly enough that we can hear him but quiet enough that the thief can't. I take a left turn through an alley and run. I have a good feeling about this alley, but I don't know why. It's in the complete opposite direction of where the thief is.

My instinct is right. There's a black van not very far away. There's a guy leaning against it, checking his watch, and smoking a cigarette.

"Should be done by now," he mumbles, dropping the smoke and grinding it into the ground. Following instinct, I quietly open the door from the other side and climb in. I close the door and lie very quietly on the floor. There's a wool blanket, and I throw it over myself. The guy climbs in the driver's side and waits. I have figured out how to switch bodies with Sheik by now, and I do.

I find myself outside in the night, again by Link. I'm watching the man wearing a gray hoodie running towards a black van. With a chill, I realize that this is the same van I'm in. I turn to Link.

"This is Zelda," I say. "I'm in the van."

"What?" says Link. "Yeah, we just saw you jump in!"

"Go get the Jeep, follow the van," I say. "_Run._" And I shift back into my body. I hope Link listened to me and is running to get the Jeep. It's not very far away.

"It's about time," says the driver gruffly as the passenger door is thrown open and a man flies in.

"Start the car, start the car!" he says.

"Chill out," says the driver, turning the key in the ignition. "We've got to let it warm up for a minute."

"Are you insane?! I just robbed a place-"

"Did anybody see you? I thought not. Such an amateur."

But anyway, the van starts to move. I shift with Sheik again.

I'm standing alone, watching the van take off. I can see Link coming up in the Jeep. Without waiting to see what happens next, I switch back to my own body and wait.

After what seems like hours of silence and lots of turns, the van finally comes to a stop. There are doors slamming, and I wait, too scared to move. Then, my door swings open. I cease breathing.

"Zelda," says Sheik. I throw the blanket off of me and exit the van.

"Where are we?" I ask.

"Kakariko Village," Sheik says.

"What?" I say. "That's like, an hour away!"

"Yeah," Sheik says. "Come on. We have to move. Link's hiding the car."

We wait for Link, and then we follow where the two men went. They went up a fire escape and through a window of an abandoned building, so, so do we. Sheik goes first, I'm in the middle, and Link takes up the rear.

Sheik pokes his head through the window.

"It's empty," he says in a hushed voice. "Come on."

And so, now we're standing in the hideout. I whip my phone out and take picture after picture. You never know when it might come in handy.

While I'm taking pictures, Link is taking as much goods as he possibly can and Sheik is looking for something. I'm looking at my pictures when he finds it.

"A letter," he declares. He reads it to himself. "Ooh," he says, dropping it.

"What?" says Link.

"It's a love letter to a dead wife. It's creepy," Sheik says. "That locket that guy stole was with it. And so was this flower, and this map. I'm taking them."

"No," Link says. "They'll suspect stuff. Let's take a picture." Link takes his phone out and snaps a picture of the flower, as well as the map. "There."

"What now?" Sheik says. I'm looking at my pictures when fear suddenly squeezes my heart. In the most recent picture, I have taken it of the door. There's something I didn't notice while taking the picture. There's a shadow of a figure visible through it. With shaking hands, I lower my phone and look at the door.

The man who was talking to me is staring right back at me. I scream.

"Whaaaa, _oh my goddesses!_" says Link, seeing the man. The man jumps in the room. He's got a knife. "Go, go, go!" shouts Link, pushing me out the window. I catch myself on the fire escape and run down that ladder as if there really were a fire. As soon as I'm close enough to the ground not to kill myself, I leap off of it and land on the asphalt.

The drop was greater than I thought. The impact rips through my legs, and I collapse. I jump back up, and then Sheik is beside me. I look up.

Link and the thief are fighting. The redhead has a knife, but Link is strong and he's winning. He's got the redhead by both wrists. Link kicks him in the shins, and he drops like lead. Link runs down the fire escape.

"Come on!" shouts Sheik. "Jump!" So Link jumps. He shouts when he hits the ground and I gasp.

"I'm okay," he grunts, standing up. He jogs off towards the jeep, Sheik and I right on his tail. We pile in the car and Sheik drives off, taking as many turns in order to shake any pursuers we might have. Eventually, around midnight, we make it home. We were not followed.


	9. Chapter 8: Sheik Baldwin

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: Hey, sorry for the long wait. I hope this is good. I apologize for not updating sooner. All my issues got resolved (well... except for one, but there's nothing I can do about that) and it's just been laziness keeping me from updating. I'm sorry. By the way, the songs used are "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night (acronym: Diggore Thenht) and "Face in the Crowd" by Tom Petty (acronym: Ptom Tety). And the song playing when Sheik and Zelda are in the guitar shop is "The Sky Could Fall Tonight" by Amber Pacific (other name: Yellow Atlantic). The artist "Tuck A.I. Born" is an acronym for "Kurt Cobain". All credit of those songs go to them!!! This is from Sheik's POV.

_It's weird- I never thought that_

_I would be friends with Zelda Royale._

_The twins don't have a clue._

_They are just bugging me because I_

_haven't come over to shoot_

_hoops or anything. I say I'm busy._

_They see Zelda over sometimes, and_

_they have a different idea of "busy" than_

_what I mean._

_Although I don't correct them._

_FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2009_

I yawn. My chin is in my hand, and I'm hardly trying to stay awake.

It's seventh hour math. I was up 'till three last night, trying to finish this stupid assignment for English. Dare I mention that I really, really hate Julius Caesar? And I know more stuff about him than I ever cared to know. I'll bet you didn't know that the month July is named after him.

I crack my eye open to see if Mr. Cameron has turned to see me falling asleep. I'm in the back row, next to Link. He rarely shows up to school, but he came today. I snicker before I shut my eyes again. Knowing a bad-to-the-bone guy like Link would not believe any old legend, me and Zelda did not tell him that we had initiated him into the Roswell Gang. We just told him that we were going to stop a break-in, and did he want to come? Of course he did, he told us. Well, Zelda. We were over at my house (Zelda doesn't want me in hers... I don't know why) and she was talking to him on speakerphone, so I could hear too. Which I guess was kind of thoughtful of her.

But Link still does not know just what he agreed to. Ha, ha.

I wonder if he and Zelda have broken up yet? I kind of (okay... really) hope so. I don't think he's good for her. Link... I don't know. I don't want to say "isn't good enough for her", because I know him okay and he's a good guy. His morals are screwed up, but he's a good guy. Zelda... I don't know. I didn't expect them to stay together, that's all.

I jump whenever the bell rings. Link shoots up, gathers his books in one sweep, and strides out of the room. It doesn't bother he didn't wait for me; we're not girls. We don't have to wait for each other and go in pairs everywhere. And it's not like we're good buds or anything.

I gather my books and head out. I walk past Zelda and her cronies. They all look identical- blonde, bubbly, and all wearing the same "Hyrule High" uniforms. Tonight's game night. I take a shortcut to get away from the shrieking cheerleaders. Ugh. Can you say headache?

But when I get to the Jeep, Zelda is somehow already there. She's leaning against it, talking angrily into her cell phone. I roll my eyes. Zelda's been getting better, but she's still Zelda Royale, preppy, arrogant cheerleader.

"_Fine,_" she snaps, hanging up the phone.

"Do you need something?" I ask, unlocking my car and getting in the driver's seat. I turn the key in the ignition. An old rock song starts to play over the speakers, and the engine roars to life. I smile. It's finally fixed. But for how long?

"A ride," she says, opening my door. "My car won't start."

"Why don't you just ride with one of your minions?" I ask, eating a handful of Skittles. Zelda makes a look of disgust.

"I don't get _why _you eat those," she says. "Like solidified sugar. Would you turn the radio down?"

"That would be Smarties," I say, turning down the radio.

"I'm not riding with Malon because everyone else is staying after school. The game starts at four."

"Why so early?" I ask, backing out of my parking space.

"How should I know?" Zelda snaps.

"Moody, today," I say. "Is it that time of the month?"

Zelda's mouth drops open. For a moment, I wonder if she's going to open the door and stomp out. Sometimes, I forget I'm not with the twins and I have to filter what comes out of my mouth.

"Didn't your parents teach you manners?" Zelda says, blushing furiously and glaring out the window. Instead of reminding her that she lacked manners, I answer reasonably.

"My parents aren't exactly around," I say, my tone bored. I'm pleased that I hide the twist of pain on the inside.

"What do you mean?" Zelda asks, her sapphire eyes in slits. I don't answer. I turn the radio up. "Wait!" she shouts. I turn the radio up more, to drown out her voice. I'm amused now, seeing her mouth moving and her curls bouncing but no sound coming out of her mouth.

"_If I were, the King of the World, tell you what I do, I'd throw away the cars and the bars and the war, make sweet love to you. Sing it now, Joy-_" sings Diggore Thenht. I start singing along.

"_Joy to the world, all the boys and girls. Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, joy to you and-_"

Zelda reaches over and shuts of the radio.

"Hey!" I say. "My car, my rules!"

"Watch where you're going!" Zelda screams. I look up.

"We're perfectly fine," I say. I reach over to turn the radio back on, but Zelda grabs my right hand. A shock of electricity goes through me.

"Don't you _dare _try to use the other hand," Zelda warns.

"Fine," I say. "But I'm not going to talk about-"

"I wasn't going to ask about your parents," Zelda says quietly.

"Oh," I say awkwardly.

"Yeah," Zelda says. "I was going to say that we needed to pick up Aryll. I was just talking to my mom. She has to work late, and our maid is on vacation, and Dad's working overtime. I already called a mechanic about my car."

"I probably could have fixed it for you," I say. "I've fixed this car enough."

"... thanks for the offer," Zelda says awkwardly. "Um... Wakefield Elementary doesn't get out until three-thirty. We have twenty five minutes."

"Okay," I say. There's an awkward silence. Our hands are tingling. Suddenly, Zelda pulls back. My hand jerks back to the steering wheel. I concentrate on the road. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Zelda's tan hand stretch out towards my radio. I don't say anything as she slowly turns it up to a reasonable volume. A different song is on now, something by Ptom Tety.

"_Out of a dream, out of the sky... Into my heart, into my life..._"

I shut off the radio.

We're on the main road, and I turn into a shop.

"What are you doing?" Zelda asks.

"We've still got ten minutes to kill," I say, shutting off the Jeep and climbing out. Zelda does the same.

"Where are we?" she asks.

"Guitar shop," I say.

"Am I going to like this?" she asks dryly.

"Probably not," I say honestly, pushing the door open. Zelda follows me. There's another song playing on the radio, something by Yellow Atlantic. We browse around the store for awhile (well, _I _browse; Zelda follows me around, as if she is afraid to touch anything). I see the curtain on the back of the wall and know that beyond that is the store's shop in which it sells all kinds of guitars. I envy the kid walking in there, but know I don't have enough time to go back there myself. I check my watch. "We have five minutes," I say, walking out.

"Put that back!" Zelda demands. I raise an eyebrow at her, but then see she's not looking at me. She's glowering at a scared-looking kid with a large, discolored birthmark on his neck. He drops a guitar pick and runs out of the store.

"Hey!" I yell.

"He's already gone, let him go," Zelda says.

"That's not it!" I say, running over to the fallen pick. "This is Tuck A.I. Born's!"

"Who's that?"

"He's a rock and roll legend!" I say, setting the pick back up on its display. "This is worth a fortune!"

"Yeah, well, we need to go get my sister," Zelda says. I mutter something about Zelda's lack of education. She sticks her tongue out at me. We go and pick up her sister, and then we drop her off. We drive away. I have every intention of dropping Zelda off at the school, but she has other plans. "What are you doing?" she says.

"Taking you to the school so you won't be late for the game," I say. It's three forty five, and she said the game was at four.

"That's not important," she says. "We need to get some work done."

"What do you mean?" I say.

"I was talking to Saria," Zelda says. "She told me there's been another kidnapping."

"I heard," I say grimly. "Your point?"

"She also told me, since neither of us read the newspaper, that the police are picking up a pattern."

"So? Isn't that good?"

"They might know something that we don't," Zelda says. "We might need to know what that is."

"And how do you suggest doing that?" I ask her.

"Well... my dad _is _a cop. I could go distract Aryll, and you can go through Dad's office. He's not home yet. Him and mom are still at work, but if Aryll sees you, she'll tell Mom and Dad, and they'll want to know who you are, what you were doing in our house, et cetera. So I'm going to go distract her, and then you run up the stairs and find his room."

"How am I supposed to do that?!" I exclaim, looking at the Royale house. It's a freaking _mansion. _I would get lost _so _easily in there, and do no one any good.

"Just-" Zelda cuts herself off, frustrated. Then, her face brightens. "I have a better idea!"

"Should I be afraid?"

"Don't be a pansy," Zelda says. "I'm just going to go distract Aryll- pop in a movie, or something- and then switch with you. All you have to do is pretend you're interested in whatever movie we're watching. I'll sneak in the house, and go up to the office, and then switch back."

"But how will I know what to look for?"

"Why does everything have to be difficult with you, Sheik?" Zelda says. "Fine. Just stay in my body and watch the movie with Aryll. I'll look for something interesting. Got it?"

"I guess," I say. "Act like you. Ehmygoddesses, my nail!Ehmygoddesses, what _is _that solidified sugar?! EW! CARBS!"

"Shut up," Zelda says, mock punching me. "Be ready. And go park your car somewhere so people don't get suspicious."

She slips out of my car and disappears into the house. I back up and cruise down the road. I find a park not too far away, and pull into the parking lot. As soon as I come to a stop, I feel a pressure on my forehead, and then I'm in Zelda's house, seated in a chair. I'm sitting on my knees in the rocking chair, and Aryll is stretched out on the couch. We're watching some princess movie.

"So, erm, how was school today?" I ask.

"Fine," Aryll says, her statement sounding more like a question. I supposed Zelda never asked questions. "You?"

"Fine," I answer awkwardly. "You thirsty?"

"Sure," she says.

"Do you want me to get you something?"

"Do you want something from me?" Aryll asks. "Why are you acting so weird?"

"Just trying to be polite," I say. Aryll stares at me for a minute before telling me she wants the usual. I get up. I dimly remember seeing the kitchen, from the first time Zelda and I had switched bodies and I had wound up in her house. As I walk into the kitchen, I hear a voice behind me.

"What are you doing?!"

I jump and turn around, looking at my face. It's only Zelda. "You're supposed to be distracting Aryll!"

"I was thirsty," I say. "By the way, what's her usual?"

"What?" Zelda says blankly. "I don't know! Keep distracting her!" Zelda creeps towards the stairs, and then turns around. She's smirking. "Ask her who her boyfriend is."

"Why?" I ask. Zelda doesn't answer, but she slips up the stairs and out of sight. I take two cups down. I pour myself a soda, and give Aryll the same. I hope I guessed right. I walk out to the living room and give Aryll her drink. To my relief, she seems pleased and greedily gulps it down. I take a drink as well and feel the fizz rolling down my throat. "So, who's your boyfriend?" I ask. Aryll glares at me darkly.

"You know I don't have one," she growls. "Things with Tim got too complicated."

"How can a ten-year-old have a complicated life?" I wonder aloud. Aryll shrieks and jumps up.

"You're such a-" Aryll yells a word that ten-year-olds shouldn't know yet, "-, Zelda!" Then, Aryll takes off up the stairs. I run up after her.

"Aryll, wait!" I say. Aryll doesn't stop.

"Why is Dad's office door open?" she says. I bound up past her and stand in front of the door.

"I don't know!" I say. "Maybe Dad wanted to keep it open?" I say.

"It wasn't open ten minutes ago when I dumped my stuff off in my room," Aryll says, her eyes narrowed. She ducks between my legs and shoots into the room. "Who are _you?_"

I feel the pressure on my head again, and I'm standing in the room. Papers are spewed everywhere, and Aryll is glaring at me.

"Why is he in _here?_" Aryll says. Zelda and I scramble for an excuse.

"I was looking for Zelda's room," I say, feeling flame heat up in my cheeks. Aryll raises an eyebrow, and then cackles with laughter.

"You two?" she says. "You can do _so _much better, Zel!"

"Hey!" I say.

"Is he your boyfriend, or is he just another one of them?" Aryll says, looking at Zelda. Zelda's face turns red, although with embarrassment or anger, I am not sure.

"Aryll, if you tell anyone-"

"Don't worry," Aryll says. "Have I told about any of your other guys?" Aryll turns and looks at me, before laughing and walking back down the stairs.

"Other guys?" I say.

"Oh," Zelda says. Her entire face is scarlet, and the tips of her ears are pink. "A few years ago... I had guys sneak into my room... We never did anything, though... There was one that wanted more than I would give him, and he left... I stopped letting guys in, then."

"Who was the guy?" I asked.

"No one you know," Zelda says. "You know I haven't always gone to this school, right?"

"No," I say.

"I transferred here in eighth grade," Zelda says. "That was because the guy that I threw out was stalking me, and we had to move away. He... was... Well, I didn't really find anything interesting. You really should get out of here before someone else sees."


	10. Chapter 9: Zelda Royale

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: Well, I suppose since it's snowing (snow, I don't know why, inspires me), I would keep going. While I'm talking about snow: who the hell gets snow in March?! It's like, a few hours ago, it was a dust of ice on green grass, so I took pictures, because how often does it snow late March/almost April?? I hope school gets canceled. It's really going _hard, _so that might actually happen. Anyways, this is from Zelda's POV.

_It's weird how things that are not planned_

_turn out exactly the way you want them to._

_Stuff that you hated when it happened,_

_stuff that you were ready to _

_do _anything _to be rid of..._

_Strange how they can be the _

_best thing of your life?_

_Opposites attract._

_FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2009_

"Zel. Zel. _Zelda._"

"Wha?" I slur.

"Wake up," says Saria softly. "We're about to land."

I crack my eye open and lean my seat up. The man behind me is relieved. The plane's light-up sign is informing us we are about to land, and we need to put on our seat belts. I buckle mine in and clench my teeth, fighting back nausea.

We went to Saria's, Link, Sheik, and I. Saria blew up the pictures of the flower and map on Link's phone. She printed them off with some high-tech printer. She compared and identified the flower as a flower native to the Deku lands. The theory that this was a Deku flower was enforced with the fact that it symbolized deep and true love (it was found next to the love letter), and proven with the fact that the map was a map of ancient ruins found- where else?- in the Deku lands. And so, we decided that we needed to get to the ruins. It was a five-hour flight, and the flight left at four, an hour after school gets out. If we left on that Friday, we would get to the Deku lands around nine, and settled into the hotel about ten. The next day we would have to ourselves, and part of Sunday, we would too. We would come home at some point on Sunday, and be ready.

The problem was, Auru Airlines only sold tickets to those eighteen or over. The hotels and flights in the Deku lands are different. They consider their men superior to their women, and the women cannot buy tickets, regardless of age. The men reach manhood at fifteen, which is young, but benefits us. Getting hotel rooms in the Deku lands would be easy as well, because of the whole manhood thing. But the problem was that me, Sheik, and Link are all seventeen and Saria is sixteen. Sure, Link could probably pass for eighteen or nineteen if not for the fact that he had to present ID upon buying tickets. We were talking about this when Link popped over with two fake ID's.

"How did you get those?" I asked. Link gave one of the ID's to Saria, and she compared it with her own.

"I know a guy," Link said mysteriously.

"He's good," commented Saria, her eyes narrowed. She did not approve of breaking the law.

"How much did it cost you?" Sheik asked him.

"Ah, that's not important," Link said. I raised an eyebrow at him as he settled himself next to me and took my hand. "What _is _important is that I have you and me fake ID's."

"Why not all four of us?" Saria asked.

"Because, four fake IDs are more at risk of being exposed than two. I could have gone with one, but there was a discount, and it just seemed more right to get IDs for me and Sheik than me and one of you two," Link said. I had nodded. And from that point, we had begun planning. I had told my parents that there was a party after the game (there was, I just chose not to go. It killed me to do it, but it had to be done.) and that I was probably staying at a friend's house. They said okay. They have never really exerted control on me, and by "I'm going to a friend's" I got two to three days of no questions asked. Saria was a bit more tricky. We had to buy some camping gear and told her mother that we were going camping. It took awhile, but her mom eventually agreed to let her come with us. Sheik, like he's told me but not explained, has no parental guardian to report his disappearance to and Link's mother did not care, so we were good to go. We bought the tickets with my money. We've got plenty to spare. I just went to the bank and withdrew a whopping amount of money from my account. Mom and Dad let me manage my own money, so I'm covered there.

I pull myself back to the present as we land on the ground. The jolt is not very great, but with my phobia of planes it feels like it jars every bone in my body. Saria silently shakes my arm.

"Time to go," she says. I nod and with shaking hands undo my seat belt.

I don't unclench my teeth until we're safely on the ground and at a standstill. Saria doesn't comment on my rigid fear; she's a good friend, and isn't going to make fun of me for it, as Malon or one of the other girls would. I'm wearing jeans, black heels, and a powder-blue tee. I have a jacket tied around my hips if I need it. I think I do; it's chilly here. In Hyrule, it was sweltering in summer and nice in the winter. Saria's wearing dark green sweats and a matching hoodie. Her hair is in a loose ponytail. She went for comfort, whereas I went for style.

We walk off the plane and wait by the exit for Sheik and Link. We got separated on the flight, and so we wait. I lean my head against the cool window. Outside, it is dark. People of all races walk the streets. Everything is so packed together here, nobody brings cars. Nobody _uses _them. If you need a car, then you rent one. But the only reason you would need a car is if you had to go out of town to do something. Which is why I'm beginning to realize heels were a bad idea.

Sheik and Link come out of the doors. We go and get our luggage, and head to the hotel room. I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

_SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 2009_

I swat at my phone as my ringtone, some pop song, blares on my night stand. I pick it up and groan into it.

"Whaddyawant?"

"Zelda, it's time to get up," comes Saria's cool and collected voice. "It's five-thirty; we're leaving at seven. You told me to wake you up."

"Thanks," I say, hanging up the phone and throwing it back down. A few moments later, it rings again. "Whaaat?" I groan.

"Zelda. You need to get up," Saria says.

"Fine," I say, hanging up. I climb out of bed and into my bathroom. The hotel we're staying at is fancy. The plush carpet in my room is white, and the walls are taupe. There are paintings hung up of various famous people. My king-sized bed has brown covers and white sheets. The headrest is wooden with designs on it. There's a night stand next to the bed and a dresser across the room. It's a really nice room, but not worth what I paid for. I walk into the bathroom and take a long, steaming shower.

I get out of the shower and get dressed around six. It's about six forty-five by the time I've blow dried my hair, got dressed, and done my makeup. I decide if I curl my hair then I won't have time to eat breakfast. I brush out the natural waves and leave it down. Yawning, I leave my room. I'm careful not to leave anything I might need. I shove the various belongings in a gym bag. I shoulder it, and then exit my hotel room.

Link, Sheik, and Saria are already eating. I join them for a quick bite (cream cheese bagel... Mmm...) and then we're on the road.

Well, walking on the road, that is. We go to the nearest place to rent a car and we get some silver Jeep Wrangler. Sheik drives, and Saria sits in the front seat, instructing him on where to turn. Link and I are in the back. I rest my head on his shoulder and fall asleep.

I'm jolted awake when we hit something and I fly up so high that I nearly hit the ceiling.

"WHAT THE-"

"Should have been wearing your seat belt," Sheik says. Chuckling, Link reaches across and buckles me in.

"Where _are _we?!" I demand. We're nowhere I recognize. The bump I felt was when Sheik swerved off the road. I look around, but we don't have any pursuers and everyone seems calm. I wonder if Sheik just dove off the road for fun. Ha. _Fun._

"We're off roading," Sheik says. "Why else would we have got a Jeep? Why not something flashy?"

"Like a 2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantage," says Link wistfully.

"It should be right around here," Saria says after a few minutes of bumps and near-death incidents involving trees and wild animals. Every time Sheik swerves out of the way he gives some whoop of victory. "Just stop. We can walk, and the engine will alert them that we're here."

And so Sheik parks the Jeep under the cover of a tree by the bank of a river. He shuts off the motor. We get out, and start walking.

"There it is!" Saria says breathlessly. It is a beautiful thing, I have to admit. Once, it was a grand palace, or maybe a barrack of some sort. Now it has thick, snake-like vines stretching across it and plants overgrown around it. The thing that signals to us that this is the place is that there is a huge boulder in front of it. The boulder has glimmering crystals embedded in it. It must be worth thousands of dollars. The reason this tips it off to us is because on the map, there was a large circle that said "The Rock of Light" next to it. At the time, we were unsure what that meant, but now it is obvious. The diamonds reflect the light into hundreds of tiny beams. It's beautiful. "Now," Saria says, "we need to get in. The security is lax. We know this because on the map it has legends as to where the cameras and booby traps are. The cameras are only on the main hallway. In theory, if we stick to the shadows and make no sudden movements, we should be okay."

"So," Sheik says, "who wants to lead?"

"Not me," says Sheik, Saria, and I simultaneously.

"What?!" Link says. "Fine," he grunts. "So I just-?"

"Goddesses, it'd be easier if I did it," Saria grumbled. As lithely as a cat, Saria sprang across the clearing and ducked in the shadows. I followed, and Sheik and Link were close behind. "It's a non-rotating camera," Saria says, staring at the cream-colored camera hanging from the ceiling. "And there's no microphone on it, either. It was built back when the cameras were primitive, and it's very basic."

"If there's no microphone, why are we whispering?" whispered Sheik.

"Listen," Saria said, pressing a finger to her lips. We close out the dark, cool passageway and listen. Voices can dimly be heard. But they aren't coming from the hallway, or above or below us; they are coming from the wall beside us. I look up.

"There's a hole," says Link. There is a hole in the wall. It's like an air vent almost, but it's just an open hole.

"That's for the summers," says Saria. "When it gets hot, the holes in the structure help air to ventilate and prevent the chambers from being too stuffy." We all look at her, amazed. "What?" she says.

"So," I say, "if someone were to crawl through that, we would have access to the whole place?"

"I suppose," Saria said. "That would be a good idea, now that I think of it. You two are too big, and I'm too short... Zelda, if one of those two lifted you, do you think you could crawl around and look?"

"Yes," I say, making sure my phone is in my pocket. If I see someone or something of interest I need to take a picture of it. "Sheik can. I'll-" Without further explanation, I switch bodies with Sheik. "There," I say.

"Did you guys just-?" Link says.

"Yeah," I say. "Sheik, hold my body tight," I tell him. "I'm going to lift you up like we would in a cheerleading stunt, and then switch back with you. All you have to do is hold tight so you don't fall, and then hold my weight so you don't drop me."

"Got it."

I promptly lift Sheik up. I feel him waver, and feel my legs quivering. "Are you afraid of heights?" I ask, amused.

"No," Sheik says. He then switches back with me. The hole is about at my stomach, and about a yard in diameter. I put my head in first, and then crawl in.

"Okay!" I say to Sheik. He lets me go.

"Be careful!" he says. I begin crawling through the hole. And it is _disgusting. _It's never been cleaned in however long it's been around. Spider webs hang from the ceiling and bugs run across. The dust is a few centimeters thick, and for a moment I wonder if it's really worth it. Then I hear the voices picking up in volume, and I hurry along the tunnel.

Suddenly, where I put my hand, there is no ground. I dive into the darkness, but I catch myself before I get too far. I freeze. The voices are not in this room, but I hear something growling. I pull my hand back so I'm not at risk of anything, and I pull my phone out of my pocket. I shine it into the hole and see hungry lions pacing beneath me. I gulp and scurry past.

Then, I see light. There's another hole, but light is illuminating out of this one. I creep closer and look into it.

The room does not match the archaic designs of the rest of the building. This is renovated, with tile floors, a table, and a refrigerator. There are two men in there. One has hair so dark it is almost violet. He has pale skin and dark eyes. He's wearing white pants and a burgundy shirt. He has a glass of water in one hand and a half-eaten apple in the other. He's staring at something that I can't see. From the light reflecting on the floor I'm guessing it's the monitor from the cameras. The other man is the one that broke into the house.

"Why do we have to stay here?" whines a kid. The kid sounds about... I don't know. Ten or younger. He's out of view.

"We have to guard the locket," says the man from the desert. "It's worth more than you know." The desert man and the man in white pants chuckle in unison. I pull out my phone very, very slowly.

"What do you mean?" says the kid.

"Do you remember the comics about superheroes you used to read? And Saturday morning cartoons? Remember Sup-"

"What's that?" says the man in white pants. The desert man cuts himself off and looks at the television. I pull up my camera on my phone and point it at the two men. "We have an intruder," says the man in white pants. "There's an intruder in the main hall."

I click the button, and there's a loud sound as my phone takes a picture. My mouth drops in horror. _How could I have forgotten to turn off the sound?!?_

The two men look up at me. I try to move, but I can't seem to force my muscles to obey. Cooly, the man in white says, "Release the lions. And get the gun. You, come down here."

I quickly backtrack. There's not enough room to turn around. I hear somebody shouting that they're releasing the lions and that the other guy needs to grab the rifle. I keep backpedalling. And then, to my horror, the ground gives away beneath me. I hear the lions snapping and I pull myself out of the hole as quickly as I can. I take a deep breath, trying not to panic. I had felt the air move as the lion leapt past my foot. I maneuver past the hole, and then keep backing up.

Again, the ground gives out beneath me. I make an eight-foot fall and land hard on my feet, and I fall back on my back.

"Zelda, are you-" I hear someone say. I can't breathe. The wind's been knocked out of me, and stabbing pain is in both of my feet.

Once I take a breath, I start to hiss a warning, but the gunfire cuts me off. Saria shouts, and she starts the bolt for the exit. Sheik and Link both dive to the ground.

"Get up!" Sheik yells at me.

"Can't," I say breathlessly. I have no doubt on my mind I've fractured both of my feet. I feel Link's strong arms scoop me up, and then the three of us are running through the jungle. Sheik flies in the driver's seat, and Link and me in the back seat.

"Go, go, go!" shouts Saria. Sheik takes off, and I see a white face in the trees. The face has mousy brown hair and is heart-shaped. The eyes are stunningly blue, and the mouth is in a tight line. Then, the face disappears. For a moment I wonder what I've just seen, and then decided I have imagined it as Sheik takes off through the jungle.

Later that night, I'm lying in my hotel room on my bed, wearing thin, crimson Soffe shorts and a white tank that has "HHS CHEER" emblazoned on it in matching red. It's hard for me to walk, so I'm avoiding it. My feet are swollen and ugly bruises are blossoming up on them. Lovely. Saria doesn't think it's fractured or broken, but she wants me to go to the doctor. I'm refusing. It's also colder than I expected it to be in here, so I'm in a tight ball beneath my covers.

There's a knock on my door. My muscles tense up.

"It's me, Zel," says Link. I feel relieved.

"It's unlocked," I say. Link comes in, and shuts the door behind him. He has a pizza in his hand.

"I brought you dinner," he says, flashing me a white smile.

"I'm not hungry," I say. "Thanks, though."

Link walks over and sets the pizza on my night stand. Instead of sitting down or leaving, like I expected him to, he climbs on my bed and lies next to me. He pulls the covers over himself and holds his arms out towards me. I snuggle up next to his broad, warm chest. "How are you feeling?" he asks in his velvet voice.

"Good," I say, mine squeaky in comparison to his. I shiver and he laughs.

"You're _still _cold?" he says.

"What can I say? It's like forty degrees in here."

"Maybe so," he says. "But only because your window is open."

"... it is?"

"Yeah..." says Link. "Do you want me to shut it for you?"

"No," I say. "You can stay right here." Link chuckles again into my hair.

"I probably should," he says, climbing out from under the blankets. Frowning, I sit up and watch him as he walks over and closes my window. Now that I think about it, I can remember hobbling over and opening the window after we got back from the ruins. It had been hot in the afternoon. Link comes back over and sits down by me. He puts his left hand in my hair and very gently leans in and kisses me. I put my arm around his neck, and lean into him. The kiss starts off slow, and then picks up heat. Link leans into me, and then we're lying in bed and he's on top of me. He breaks the kiss for a moment to pull the covers over himself, and then we're kissing again. When I break apart for air, he plants a line of kisses from my ear to my collarbone. He lays his head on my shoulder and I feel his warm breath on my skin. I feel his hand on the waistband of my shorts. It lingers there for a moment, and then it goes under my shirt. His hands run across my stomach, and then they start to travel up further.

"No," I say, putting my hands on his.

"Okay," he says. "I'll keep my hands to myself." And then he gets off of me and sits up.

"I didn't say I wanted you to go," I say. "I just don't want to... you know."

"Okay," he says, a bit confused.

"Are you staying here tonight?" I ask hopefully. I have faith that Link will respect my boundaries, and I'm not afraid of lying in bed with him.

"Nah, I probably should get back to my room," he says. "But I can stay for awhile." Without further invitation, Link lies down next to me again. I turn and put my back to him, and he wraps his arms around me. I feel safe and secure. "Zelda?"

"Yes?" I purr.

"Would you mind telling me what exactly I'm with you guys for?" he asks me. I tighten up. "I _do _have a right to know," he says.

"I know," I say, chewing on my lip. "I'm just afraid you won't believe in it."

"Even if I don't," he tells me, "I've still got to stay in it. Because of you. I couldn't just leave you with Sheik all day, unsupervised."

I smile. I take a breath, and then explain everything.


	11. Chapter 10: Sheik Baldwin

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the last chapter. I know excuses aren't that great, but I'm gonna try. I have an issue because when I write, I develop a relationship with the character. It's like an author-character thing. Kind of like a mother-child thing, maybe? But I get how the character thinks, and I know what they've been through and how events affect their decisions, and what kind of stuff goes on behind closed doors, and often I forget to add crucial details in. In my defense, this flaw in my writing is even more pronounced in fics like this and "The Phoenix", because it's split between two+ characters and it's difficult. But anyway: last chapter, there is clearly a bond between Link and Zelda. Zelda started off hating Link, and now he's in bed with her? Again, I apologize that I didn't make this clearer. I tried to hint at it with Sheik wondering why they hadn't broken up yet, when are they ever going to (or maybe I forgot to put that in too... oops...). But Link called Zelda's house a lot, and Zelda has grown to like him. A lot. As the previous chapter has showed you. I probably ruined that part and had you questioning instead of... I don't know, whatever you think whenever you read it. Again, I apologize. And another thing, but I think I made this clear with the electricity/hand/radio knob thing: Sheik now has a crush on Zelda, that's developing with every passing moment. Now, on with chapter ten! (Sheik's POV) WAIT!! Before you start, one more thing to say: whenever I write the italicized things, I listen to a song to help me get in the mood of writing. I've forgotten the songs for the other ones, but this one was "Whittlin' Man" by Stephen Lynch (which I do not own). That one doesn't really apply to this... at all... But I'm going to start telling you the songs so you can get the feel of the mood. I guess I chose "Whittlin' Man" for this one because it has a fast beat. I can't think of any other reason. But all of the other songs apply to the chapter. NOW, on with it!!

_Risk._

_I was never actually the risky_

_type. I was the one who,_

_well, I wouldn't say stayed behind,_

_but I _definitely _was not_

_the one to run valiantly into_

_the darkness, even if it was to save my girl._

_SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2009_

So, we're on our way home. Well, we've already been home. The plane rides are over. I cannot say how badly I hated that. I have a fear of heights, but I'm pretty good at hiding it. That stems from... well, never mind.

We came home. My car was in the lot, waiting for us. I have taken the liberty (um, actually, been forced) to cart everyone around (at least, with stuff relating to the Roswell Gang). We're going to Saria's. We headed over there, and then Zelda said she needed to go home, drop her stuff off, tell her parents she's home. I gave her a ride. Now, she's hobbling back out to my car. She gets in and sits in the seat. Her face is white and her breathing is very concentrated.

"You okay?" I ask, concerned.

"Yeah," she says. "I've had worse. It'll be okay."

"Okay," I say, unsure of what else I'm supposed to do. She refuses to go to the doctor, even though her feet are killing her.

"What are you waiting for?" Zelda asks me. I look over my shoulder and back out of her driveway, avoiding the mailbox and skillfully riding south on Rauru Road. We ride in silence (my radio's off... I know she doesn't like my music) for a few moments, and I try to decide the best way of how to say what's been on my mind.

"So, I've been thinking..." I say awkwardly. Zelda looks at me and raises an eyebrow, waiting. "You said something about... a stalker?"

Zelda's face colors.

"It's none of my business," I say quickly, mistaking her color for anger instead of embarrassment.

"It's okay," she tells me. "It was my fault... You see... My parents raised me and Aryll that we could always do whatever we want to, and that we have the world in our hands. They put off the impression that we were allowed to do whatever we wanted, as long as it gave us happiness."

"I see," I say, although I don't see why a parent would ever brainwash their kid like that. That has to be why Zelda acted (acts?) so spoiled and Aryll acts like a teenager at... ten.

"And so they gave me whatever I wanted," she goes on. "However late I wanted to be out, that was my curfew, and if they ever tried to ground me I threw big hissy fits and they caved. I started wearing makeup in the fifth grade and tried out for cheerleading. In fifth grade, they wanted to hold hands with me on the playground. In sixth grade, they wanted to kiss me. In seventh grade, they wanted me to go to parties, and in eighth grade they wanted even more." Zelda's face colors again. It's getting easier to see how often she blushes. She hasn't tanned as much as usual, and it's starting to fade. She's still wearing excessive makeup, but not as much as it was a few weeks ago. "I didn't let them," she assures me. "I went to the parties, too, but I never drank... Well, there was one that I did drink at, but only a few sips. It was disgusting. I haven't drank since then."

"Okay," I say. I haven't either. That stuff is vile.

"Mom and Dad's big mistake happened when they let me go to my first girl-boy sleep over," Zelda says. "It was innocent, that time. There were three boys and three girls, and we got together. The boys slept in a camper in the backyard, and the girls slept inside. We stayed up all night- at least until my friend's dad made the boys go to bed- and then hung out all day. That was so much fun, it is one of the best memories of my life." Zelda pauses for a minute. I come to a stop, and then turn onto a dirt road. "And I got the idea it would be just as much fun if I were with my boy friends. Not boyfriends, boy friends," she says, stressing the difference. "And so, when the first guy snuck up to my window, I was delighted to let him in. Aryll was in the room next door, so she always heard when they climbed trees and knocked on my window."

I listen intently to the story, keeping a poker face. _I'm not going to give input, no input, no input, _I chide myself. If Zelda wanted my opinion on what she had done- was doing?- then she would ask.

"And I would let them in, and they would lay in bed with me. We would talk, and some of them would try to kiss me, but I didn't like that too much and I didn't let them back if they tried to do that," she says. Her face is flaming, now. "And it got to the point where there was a different guy in my bed every night. And then came Miguel." Zelda suddenly stops and breathes. I chance a look at her. She looks so uncomfortable, it's almost humorous. "Miguel was my first real love. He was like my fairy-tale prince. It was like straight out of a storybook. I was the princess with all the jewels and riches in the world, and he was the pauper with only twenty dollars to his name. Miguel was also the first poor person I ever paid attention to. At first, I tried to ignore him. But then he got my number from one of my friends, I still don't know who, and texted me 'good morning, love' at seven o'clock every morning and 'good night my dear' at ten o'clock every night. Never a minute early, never a minute late. He intrigued me, so one of the days he tried to get my attention, I actually talked to him. I don't remember what we said, but I remember how _magical _it felt. He wasn't even that special, you know?" Zelda's voice breaks on "you know". I turn to her.

"You don't have to keep going if you don't want to," I say quietly. I notice it's starting to get dark. Zelda doesn't say anything for a good long while.

"But it was the little things," she says, composed again. "The text messages, the conversation... There were a couple times I would find a bag of candy in my pocket or my backpack or something, and they were Skittles, because he always loved Skittles. I can't eat them anymore because of him."

I notice the bag of Skittles on my dashboard. Zelda laughs when she sees my gaze.

"It's okay," she says. "I know you like them too. But anyway... It was on Valentine's Day of my eighth grade year when Miguel gave me a conversation heart that said 'Be mine?'. Of course, I said yes. And that night, he came into my room. And then things started getting... weird."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Well, the first month was great. Every night I fell asleep in his arms, but when I woke up he was gone. He always had a note that said... this is really cheesey. Promise you won't laugh, okay?"

"Okay."

"It always said something along the lines of, 'Good night, my princess. Love, Prince'. You said you wouldn't laugh!"

"Sorry," I snicker. "I underestimated the amount of cheese."

"Anyway," Zelda says, "I was in love with him. But then... he started getting weird. He would go through my phone and delete texts from other guys, even harmless ones. He started monitoring my phone calls, asking 'Who? When? Where? Why?' constantly, and if I didn't tell him why I had called whoever it was- it didn't even have to be a guy, it could be one of my cheer buddies- he would start screaming at me to the point where I was crying. But, stupid me, I always let him right back in. Stuff like that."

"Yeah," I say.

"And then one night... He pushed too far," Zelda says. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her neck muscles tighten up. "He started kissing me, and I tried to push him away, but instead of leaving like the other ones had, he... advanced." Zelda stops again, blushing. "Nothing happened, I swear. I started shouting, and then Dad came up and forced him to leave. After that I tried to avoid Miguel as much as possible. In school, everything. I ignored his calls, I deleted his texts, _everything. _And then, the calls stopped. Everything stopped, and I thought I was done with him. Then, I noticed him following me around everywhere, but always in the shadows, just out of sight. My friends told me to tell him to quit bugging him about me. I dismissed it and thought it would go away... But I stopped going places alone."

"That sounds creepy," I comment. We're getting closer to Saria's, now.

"It was," she tells me. "I kept waking up and he would be at my window. It got so bad I slept in Aryll's room one night. He came there too, and Aryll ran and got Mom and Dad, but Miguel was already gone. That happened a couple more times... He was stalking me. He followed me around everywhere and followed me home one day... Mom and Dad almost called the cops, but we had nothing on him... He'd never trespassed, or sent me any bad texts or calls... There was nothing we could do. So, one day, without even telling me and Aryll, Mom and Dad packed up and we moved across the country. I haven't heard from Miguel since."

"That's creepy," I say.

"Yeah," Zelda says. A silence settles over us and I pull into Saria's house. "So," she says, "I spilled my guts about something I've never told anyone before. Your turn."

"What?"

"What happened to your parents?"

"Oh," I say. "Something bad."

"Really?" Zelda says sarcastically. "What?"

"An accident," I say, putting my hand on the handle. Zelda stretched out across the car and puts her hand on mine.

"What do you mean?"

"Look, Zelda," I sigh, "I'm not ready to talk about this."

"Well, _I _wasn't ready to tell you about Miguel," she says snottily.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"I promise I'll tell you."

"You swear?"

"Yup."

Zelda releases me. I take a breath, and then swing open the door and run out.

"Hey!" she says. "You swore!"

"I swore I'd tell you," I say. "You didn't specify when."

"_Sheik!_" Zelda hisses. I laugh, and dash into the house.

A few hours later, it's dark, and the four of us are still at Saria's. We're trying to figure out our next move when suddenly Saria's face drains of all color.

"Did anyone else see that?" she says.

"Yeah," Zelda says. She looks like she's seen a ghost.

"What?" asks Link.

"There's someone out there," Saria says.

"You're imagining things," I say, stretching out on the couch.

"I saw it too," Zelda says. "I saw that face when we were leaving the ruins. It's the same person, I swear to the Goddesses."

"You're so sure?" I say. Zelda and Saria look scared. "Well, then let's not be stupid. Call the cops."

Nodding, Zelda jumps up. She and Saria go out to the dining room, where the phone is. We have to be quiet, because Mr. and Mrs. Forester are already in bed. As soon as the girls are gone, I put a hand on the handle.

"Where are you going?" Link asks me.

"To go have a look around," I say. "You coming?"

"Of course," he says. "Are we telling Saria and Zelda?"

"No, you know they'd freak out," I say.

"Yeah," Link agrees. We go outside to the night air.

And I'm man enough to admit it's darn creepy. It's unnaturally dark, and the trees whistle in the wind ominously. Shadows throw darkness over everything that the moon hasn't already blocked out.

"You go around the east side and I'll go around the west," I say. "We'll meet up in the back." Link nods, and we set off on our separate ways.

I slink around the side of the house lithely as a cat and quiet as a mouse. I'm careful to duck around trees and make sure I don't walk blindly into a trap. There's a gate, and I put one foot on the side of the house and launch myself over. I land hard, and I hurt my toes. I sit there on the ground, making faces, and then stand up. I meet Link.

"Nothing," he says. "Go around again?"

"Sure," I say. "Switch sides, see if we catch something the other gets." Link agrees again, and we switch sides.

Link's side of the fence is harder to jump over than my own. There's a hole by it, but I jump over it with ease.

Then, I hear something in the line of trees. My head snaps in that direction, and then everything is dark and my airway is constricted. I slam into the ground and then it takes one, stunned moment to realize that there's a bag over my head and the strings are being pulled tightly. I feel weight on my chest, and I'm being held down. It wouldn't matter anyway; I suddenly feel very, very weak.

"_Be careful where you stick your nose, vermin,_" hisses a female voice. "_We mean business._" I feel cool hands on the collar of my shirt, and the hands jerk the collar down just a little bit. "_We show mercy this one time, but this is a warning as to what you are messing with._"

And then I feel the knife graze my chest. I'm vaguely aware of the weight leaving, and retreating footsteps. But my muscles feel lax and I can't seem to be able to pull the bag off of my head. I'm aware of somebody screaming and sirens as I slip away into unconsciousness.


	12. Chapter 11, Part 1: Sheik Baldwin

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: I was going to write more yesterday, but I was/am sick. It's really weird. It's not exactly like I'm sick, more like exhaustion. I've been falling asleep in class (I DON'T do that), but I never do anything to make me that tired. I don't do sports or other taxing activities. I go to bed at ten at the latest, and get up at six. And yesterday I slept through my alarm clock (I NEVER do that... I'm usually a light sleeper). And I guess I looked worse than I thought, because I stepped out into the living room and Mom gave me this really weird/concerned look and asked me if I should stay home. And I slept all day. And my friend called me and the phone is a foot away from my pillow, and it's on loud ring, and I slept through that, too. And today? I'm STILL tired. But I figured I kinda left you on a cliffhanger, and I'd better start writing again. Here goes. Short, I know, but I wanted to post something tonight. Oh, here's a little interesting tidbit: "Mr. Kagee" is Kaepora Gaebora in human form. Kagee = K.G. = freaky, huge, owl. Sheik's POV. Song: "Why"- Secondhand Serenade

_I wonder if it's right, knowing she's Link's girl..._

_That I find myself dreaming about her,_

_I find myself thinking about her,_

_I find myself breathing in her scent,_

_I find myself staring when she doesn't think I'm looking._

_I promise that I'll take care of her, someday._

_That is, if she wants me._

_If she doesn't... well, I just want what's best_

_for her. That's what's most important._

_I can survive as long as she's happy._

_MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2009_

I come back to school the next day. Well, why wouldn't I? But here's what happened...

I came to in Saria's kitchen. Her parents were furious, and Saria herself looked petrified. Zelda looked... it's hard to describe. The word "scared" didn't really fit, and neither did... well, anything else.

"Quit freaking out, I'm fine," I said. "It's hardly even a scratch!"

"You're bleeding a ton!" Zelda said.

"Well..." I said.

"Are you diagnosed with hemophilia?" asked a policeman urgently.

"I don't know. No!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"It's just... look, it's not deep!"

"Well, we have to check you into the ER just for a checkup."

I refused. They insisted. I refused again. Then, Zelda asked, so I went. They ran a bunch of tests on me, and they decided I was fine and did not, in fact, have hemophilia. The cops took the bag that was on my head and informed me this morning that it was drenched in some kind of chemical (DUH) that made me pass out. They're unsure what that would be, but it was not anything they'd seen before and, from what they could tell, not lethal. My "knife wound" is not very deep at all. It's just like it would be if I'd scratched myself with a hanger or dropped a fork on myself or something. Not like I'd been knifed. The cut is like the mouth of a smiley face that is about the length of my hand. It stings a bit, but nothing that bothers me too badly. The bleeding stopped after awhile, but the doctors bandaged me up anyway.

Now, we're in school. Well, we're leaving school, actually. The incident from last night as well as our escapades this weekend have gone unnoticed, or at least, the high school hasn't been talking about it. Zelda's car is still at the mechanic's, so I'm giving her a ride home again. Link would, but he has to ride the bus, and the bus goes all the way across town. We live in a big town.

Zelda and I are walking out when Mr. Kagee yells at us. Mr. Kagee has big, circular glasses that gives him the appearance of an owl or something. He's balding, and the mousy brown hair that's left is short and uneven.

"Ms. Royale?"

"Yeah?" Zelda says, turning and looking at him.

"The office just got a call from your dad. He says he's picking up Aryll, and you don't have to today."

"Okay," Zelda says. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Kagee says, heading back the other way. I walk with Zelda; my car's parked out there, and we've made a pact that, as of last night, none of us are going anywhere that fellow humans won't be around. We get in the Jeep, and I drive us to her house. It's nice we don't have to pick Aryll up today.

We part, and I smile as she goes into the house. The wind blows her perfume back at me, reminding me of what I can't have. I curse myself, because it is completely my fault. If I hadn't've set up her and Link, then she never would have made a second glance at him. Maybe, then, we could have-? No... She thinks of me as a friend... And nothing more. Ha.

You always hear about love being so great and stuff, don't you? _Well, it sucks, _I think. I keep the Jeep and watch her as she goes in, making sure that she doesn't lock herself out and need a ride somewhere or anything.

It's so hard to think of anything _but _her. I just wish I could call her mine... It's so hard to see her and Link in the hallways holding hands and looking so _happy. _But I think I'm doing a pretty good job of keeping it hidden from everyone else.

As Zelda goes in her house and I decide I need to put distance between Zelda and myself, I back up. I don't get very far before I feel like there's a hand on my forehead, and suddenly I'm standing in Zelda's house staring at the man from the desert. And then, in a second, I'm back in my own body. There's a frozen moment of shock before I wrench open the door and leap out of the Jeep. I pause, remembering what the policeman I had talked with had insisted for me to do. I pull a small handgun out from beneath my seat, tuck it inside my jean jacket. I pull out my phone and dial nine-one-one. The line is picked up almost immediately. I say the problem and the address, and then shut the phone, throw it down, and race into the house.

The front door, of course, is locked. I kick it down (which feels SO cool, I might add. You should try it some time. Not, not the chasing-man-kidnapping-girl-I-love thing. The kicking down the door. It gives a feeling of power and- um. I guess you want to get back to the story now. Sorry.) and run in.

"Zelda?" I shout. Everything is quiet. I put my hand inside my jacket and on my gun. The cop had told me after the incident last night that it would do me good to keep some sort of protection handy. I don't think he meant a gun, but there's not anything else in my dad's room. Well, I suppose I could take a hunting knife or something. Dad had lots of those to spare. Anyway, I hear a noise up at the top of the stairs. I creep up, keeping my back to the wall. I make sure the gun is cocked, loaded, and ready for action before I get too far.

"Freeze!" I say at the same time as somebody else as I pop over the top of the stairs.

"Or I'll shoot!" says the other voice. I can feel my arms shaking. The desert man has Zelda in a headlock. Zelda has some kind of bag over her head and a gun buried in her neck. "You can't do it," hisses the desert man hypnotically. "You know you can't. You're not a killer, Baldwin. I am, on the other hand. I've killed hundreds of people." Zelda whimpers as the man tightens his grip. "I was a trained assassin before I started working for... my boss. I may be young, but I know how to get things done. I could kill you both, right now."

"But you wouldn't do that," I say. "That would not make your boss happy."

"How do you know?" asks the desert guy. "I could be here on orders to kill you both... I could have just put this bag over her head so she wouldn't see me carving out her insides with a knife and flinging them out the window... I've done that before, you know... Gutted and skinned humans alive... I put a bag over Ms. Royale so that she would not need to feel so much fear. She shouldn't worry her pretty little-"

I fire the gun.


	13. Chapter 11, Part 2: Sheik Baldwin

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: This one is probably going to be a shortie too. If it is, I will most likely put the next one up immediately following. Since this is a part two, and not another chapter, it's still Sheik's POV and there's no italicy thoughts in the beginning.

_MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2009_

Zelda screams. The look on the desert man's face is kind of surprised, and at the same time bone white. I hit him in the shoulder. I can feel myself shaking.

"Start talking," I command.

"Okay," he says smoothly, "What would you like to know? I'll let you know as much as I can."

"As you can?" I scoff. "You'll tell everything you know, or I'll kill you."

"You don't have it in you," he says.

"That's what you said last time," I say.

"Yes, and I'm still standing," he says. "And you're shaking too badly to shoot me. But this should ease your burden. My name is Ganondorf. It's a desert name, and some of them can get kind of weird. I'm in my twenties, and I was forced to go into this business."

"Who are you working for?" I ask.

"I can't tell you that," Ganondorf says, "But I am not the man you think I am." And then, something unexpected happens.

Ganondorf throws Zelda into me. He reaches into his pocket and throws violet-colored pellets at the floor. A smokescreen instantly covers the room, and I cough. I set Zelda down on the floor. With shaking hands, she tries to undo the bag over her head. I cock the gun and wave at the smoke.

"Until tomorrow," says Ganondorf from the smoke. I hear a window open, and then the smoke quickly escapes through it. I can dimly see Ganondorf leap out the window and disappear. I run over to it and stick my head out.

"Sheik-!" Zelda comes up behind me and latches her arms around my middle. I twist at her fingers and try to escape through the window, but she won't let go of me.

"Zelda-"

"_Don't leave me_," she begs.

Come on, you would have done the same thing! I shut the window, and I can hear sirens in the distance. I'm glad that the cops are finally on the way.

"We have to get out of here," Zelda says desperately.

"No, we have to wait for the police to get here," I say. "They can't just show up to an empty house; they'll put out an Amber Alert to try to find you, and then we'll get in bigger trouble!"

"_Please,_" she begs. But I've had enough of the love-whipped stuff for the day.

"No," I say firmly. Zelda collapses into me, and I hold her until the cops rush in.


	14. Chapter 12: Zelda Royale

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: Zelda's POV. I'm going to try to finish this before May 18th, but do not hold me to that! You've seen how slowly I update! But the reason for this is that I type these up on my laptop, and my laptop is actually the school's. The school gives laptops to all the students and collects at the end of the school year, and May 18th is the day they're taking my dearie away from me. *sniff* So anyway... Song: "Sorry", Buckcherry

_Why didn't I say what I needed to say_

_when I had the chance? So much time,_

_and I was so hateful, until_

_recently. But even recently, I never_

_said what I needed to._

_I'm sorry._

_I'm so, so, sorry._

_THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2009_

My feet are on the dashboard, and Sheik keeps eyeing me nervously, like he thinks I'm going to get footprints on his windshield or something. I kind of wish I could ride with Link, but he lives all the way across town and has to ride the bus to get around. Sheik probably would pick him up, but Link lives in the opposite direction of Saria's house and it would be a waste of gas. Sheik doesn't live very far from me, and the mechanic screwed up my car and is taking even longer to fix it, so I'm still riding with him. Which is fine with me. I don't have to pay for gas anymore. But at the same time... I really wish that I didn't have to ride with Sheik.

If there was any chance at all to get AWAY from him, I would take it in a heartbeat.

Please, don't think I'm a horrible person. I'm only saying that to try to KEEP me from being a horrible person.

I like Sheik, I really do. But I like him... more than I should. Especially when you factor Link into the equation. And I need to start getting myself AWAY from Sheik, so hopefully these feelings (shudder) I'm having for him will go away, and I can be completely devoted to Link. Back before I started thinking about what I said and was meaner, even then I was loyal. I've never seen two guys at a time, and I've never cheated, or had feelings for another guy. And I don't like it. I feel... dirty.

At any rate, whether it's wrong or right, we continue driving down the deserted dirt road.

"I have something to show you," Sheik randomly says.

"And what would that be?" I ask. I notice, not for the first time, that Sheik's ever-present bag of Skittles is no longer in the Jeep. I asked him about it, and he just said he was trying to cut back. Which makes me feel even guiltier.

"I can't tell you," he says. "That would take the surprise out of it."

"Please?" I ask again. Sheik shakes his head. He reaches for the bag of Skittles, but his hand twitches back as he remembers they're no longer there. I don't comment; the fact that he still won't tell me about his parents is an indicator that he's a suffer-on-your-own kind of person, whereas I'm more of an go-tell-everyone-you-know kind of person. Miguel is the one exception to that.

I suppose you want to know what happened with Ganondorf. Well, he got away. The cops came in and took me and Sheik to the hospital and we were both checked over to make sure we were okay. We were both fine, but we were both scared out of our wits. The cops scolded Sheik for carrying a gun. One cop screamed at him.

"If he hadn't've had that, we might both be dead!" I shouted.

"Zelda," said Daddy. Daddy, being a cop and the father of a minor directly involved, was at the hospital with us. My mom was there too. Nobody was there to represent Sheik. He's an emancipated minor and does not need adult representation. "Sheik, that was illegal for you to take a gun in a car without a license, but since you had a good reason I'll let this slide. But it would be wise for you to get a license to carry a firearm." And so now Sheik is in a two-week class to get his gun license. As punishment, though, his gun has been taken away. Which really makes me antsy. "I think," Daddy said to some other guy in a police uniform, "we should assign them bodyguards."

"They're fine," the guy said. His badge read "OFFICER INGO".

"No, they are obviously not," said Daddy. "I want bodyguards!"

"Look," Ingo said, glancing around. He, Daddy, and another officer were the only ones there. Sheik and I were sitting up in hospital beds. There were curtains separating each of the beds in the room, and the curtain separating me and Sheik were pulled back but we kept the other ones in place. Ingo took Daddy's elbow and led him off. He whispered to him, his beetle-resembling eyes popping out of his skull. Sheik and I could make out the words "expensive" and "unnecessary". Daddy argued with him, but then Ingo said something that shut Dad up. Ingo was a higher rank than Daddy, I guess. They were both pretty high up on the scale, but I think Ingo's higher. "And besides," Ingo said, "the paperwork would take to long." Ingo and Dad came back over near me and Sheik, and Dad looked disgusted.

So basically the only thing that came out of it was that Sheik can't give me a ride home from school anymore on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays because of his lessons. Oh, and my house has a new alarm system. I have to memorize a six-digit code to set it on and off. Joy.

"So... My surprise?" I ask.

"Sorry," Sheik says. "Nope."

"Not even a hint?"

"Nope."

"You suck."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Sheik pulls into Saria's house. I step out of the car. "Mmm... Food," I say. I can smell bread cooking or something. It smells GREAT. And I'm hungry. I skipped lunch today to study for a science test. Which I'm pretty positive I failed. I run in the house. Saria's at the kitchen table, drinking out of a bottle of water.

"What is that _smell_?" I ask.

"Mom's making chicken noodle soup for dinner and some bread to go with it," Saria says as if her parents cooking such delectable-smelling dinner happened a lot.

"Does this happen on a regular basis?" I ask curiously.

"Yes..." says Saria, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Smells great, Mrs. Greenly!" Sheik yells, walking in.

"Thanks!" Saria's mom yells from somewhere in the back of the house. "You can stay for dinner if you want!"

"You can too, Zel," Saria says. "And yes. They make dinner every night. Do your parents starve you or something? It's okay to eat here, if you were wondering."

"No, they don't starve me," I say. "But usually it's up to me to get my dinner, or the maid runs and gets me and Aryll McSage's or something. We don't usually have home-cooked stuff. And the house never smells so good like this."

"Well, you're welcome to come over any time you want," Mrs. Greenly says, walking out into the room with us. Mrs. Greenly is short. I mean short, short. She just barely clears four and a half feet. She's rather... round, too. Her hair is black and her eyes are similar to Saria's. Mrs. Greenly is as about as sweet as can be. "Saria, did you get your homework done?"

"Yes," Saria says, rolling her eyes. "I always do."

"Just checking," Mrs. Greenly says, winking at me and Sheik and heading back down the hallway.

"She's a nag sometimes," Saria says. I furrow my brow. I kind of... wish my mom was naggier. It would show she cared. But I know she _does _care. ...doesn't she? Of course she does. Why else would she buy me all my stuff? _You haven't asked for anything lately, and before then, you threw a hissy fit whenever you didn't get what you wanted, _says a voice in the back of my head. I feel a twinge of guilt. I suddenly feel something I haven't felt in a long time- I want my mom.

_Oh, snap out of it! _I tell myself. _Sheik doesn't even _have _parents. Quit it._

I push that feeling to the back of my mind and Sheik, Saria, and I talk while we wait for Link to show up. A half hour and three cookies later, he does. He sits down by me and takes my hand. I squeeze his and instantly feel all warm and happy inside.

Then, we start talking in hushed voices about the Roswell Gang. We've got a list of suspects (a very, very short list). It seems like that whoever is kidnapping and stuff doesn't know about Saria and possibly Link's involvement. Me and Sheik have been basically the only targets. We start talking about other theories, and then Mrs. Greenly comes out. We quickly change the subject to school.

"How's cheerleading?" Saria asks me casually.

"Eh," I say. "Alright." And this is a total lie. All of the other cheerleaders think that I'm on crack or something because I'm acting different. One of the girls asked me if I were bipolar and one of the freshmen, on a dare, asked me to help her on homework. I said sure, and the girl looked like she thought the Apocalypse was underway or something. They staged an intervention the other night, and I was mad. I went home, and they followed me. I locked them out and eventually they went away. But why bother telling Saria, Link, Sheik, and Mrs. Greenly this? No use.

"When's the next game?" asks Sheik, playing with the salt shaker on the table.

"Tomorrow," I say.

"Soup's ready," Mrs. Greenly says. "You guys need to call your parents, tell them you won't be home for supper?"

"Nah," Sheik says.

"No, ma'am," Link tells her. I smile. Instead of saying what he would have said if any of us had asked ("HA! Like THEY care!"), he can be pretty charming sometimes.

"They won't mind," I say, feeling the same longing as before. I shove it away.

"You sure?" Saria's mom says.

"Yeah," I confirm. Mr. Greenly comes out, and the six of us crowd around the tiny table and eat the soup. The bread is GREAT. Mrs. Greenly put vinegar or something in it that gives it more flavor then normal. We eat in silence (everyone's too busy stuffing their faces to talk; Sheik and Link are left to fend for themselves to eat and I don't get homemade meals very often), and then Mrs. Greenly does the dishes. We talk about homework, and then my phone vibrates. I pull it out of my pocket. Malon. "Hello?" I say.

"Zel?" she says.

"Yeah," I say. "Are you crying?"

"No," Malon says, her voice perfectly composed.

"_Were _you?" I ask.

"No!" Malon says.

"Did you and Jeffry break up again?"

"NO!" Malon yells. "Look, Zel- I think you should mind your own business."

"About Jeff?" I ask, confused. "But you're the one who tells me-"

"No, not about Jeff!" Malon says. "Just... think things through before you do stuff. I heard about what happened the other day."

I freeze up. "How?" I ask. The policemen were under strict order not to tell anybody. Press was the enemy, and they would stalk us in hordes if they had heard about this story.

"Word gets around," Malon says. "Just... be careful, okay?"

"Okay," I say. "Bye."

"Bye." Malon hangs up.

"What?" Link asks.

"Nothing," I say, pointedly staring at Mrs. Greenly's back as she does the dishes so that the others know I'll tell them later. As soon as she leaves, Saria demands to know what just happened. I tell them, and we sit in silence for a moment. Then, Saria takes a pen and writes down Malon's name on the suspect sheet. "No," I say. "I'm sure she was just worried."

"Just in case," Saria says, finishing the name.

"Word gets around?" Sheik quotes. "How, though? Us four, the Greenlys, the Royales, and the cops are the only ones that know anything. Are you sure you didn't let anything slip at practice or something?"

"Positive," I say.

"As much as I hate to shoo you guys away," Saria says, looking at the clock on my phone, "I really need to study for tomorrow."

"Okay," I say. "Bye." Saria bids us farewell, and then we leave. We all pile in Sheik's car and he drives to my house.

"Zel. Zelda," Link says, nudging me. My head is on his shoulder and I keep dozing off. What time is it, anyway? "We're here." He kisses the top of my head and walks me to my door. Sheik waits in the car. I punch in _886401 _and put my hand on the doorknob. I turn back to Link. He turns and makes sure that we're out of Sheik's sight, and then he kisses me very softly. I smile. "Good night," he says.

"Night," I say. I open the door and go in. I watch Link walk away, and then watch Sheik drive off. He comes precariously close to hitting the mailbox, and I laugh as he maneuvers out. He drives away. I turn around. "I'm going to bed Mom, good night," I yell. My motherly longing still hasn't completely gone away. It would be nice to hear her tell me good night, but as usual, no one answers. "Mom?" I yell, determined to get a response out of her. I turn the corner.

And I suddenly can't breathe.

Blood is smeared on the walls. I scream and sprint to the kitchen. I seize the biggest knife in the sheathe/thing we put our knives in that is sitting on the counter. I brandish it and I pick up the phone.

"Hello, 911?" I say. "This is Zelda Royale. I'm at my home- 912 Gleneagles Ave., Castle Town, Hyrule. There's been a break-in, and there's blood on the walls-"

"We'll be there soon."

"Is Officer Royale there?"

"No, he's off work tonight."

"Okay, thanks," I say, hanging up the phone and throwing it on the counter. I grip the knife with both hands and creep around the kitchen. "DAD?" I scream. "ARYLL? MOM?" There is no answer- not like I was expecting anyway. I see the wall and everything goes numb. The "M" is slightly smeared, and the last "S" is running.

Written in blood, the kitchen wall reads "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS".


	15. Chapter 13: Sheik Baldwin

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: I don't know how long this is going to take before I put it on- but, here we go. Song- "Cool the Engines" Boston. Sheik's POV.

_What the heck?_

_Seriously..._

_Why can't we just catch a break _

_every now and again?!_

_I mean really... chem tests..._

_Trying to solve kidnappings..._

_Pining after somebody off-limits..._

_Can the Higher Power _not _see the stress on our lives?!_

_FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2009_

It's killing us to see Zelda like this. Her eyes are all wide and scared, and she keeps crying. Her hair isn't done and her makeup is just smeared around from last night. She hasn't changed clothes. The word to describe her right now is _numb. _And it's scary. I'm used to her ordering me around, or being moody and temperamental, or being irritatingly stuck up, or being my whole world. And now... she's quiet.

And I don't like it.

Which is why I'm driving down to her house right now to get some of he stuff and bring it to her. Why didn't her ever-loving and bad-boy boyfriend do this? He's at Saria's house, comforting her. Zelda did the only reasonable thing. She called the cops, and then when they came, they got her OUT of there and to the police station. She wouldn't talk; she was in shock. It was more like she _couldn't _talk. She's still somewhat in that stage. But the cops took her phone from her and searched through for my number, because they seem to like me. I was all freaked out when I answered, expecting Zelda, and instead getting this guy whose voice sounded like it should belong to some sweaty fat guy who lifted weights. He was all "Hu-hullo?" and of course, I thought it was Ganondorf. I was all "WHAT?!" and then he said he was Officer Ingo and I needed to come down to the police station, but he wouldn't tell me any more. I went down there really fast and Ingo explained everything. I called Saria's house (Mr. Greenly was not very happy to get a phone call so late) and explained everything. The Greenlys (all four of them) came down to the police station and Mrs. Greenly offered to let Zelda stay there until everything got sorted out. Of course, Zelda accepted, and the cops decided that the Greenlys were good to stay with. Mr. Greenly owns a grocery store in Kakariko, where he grew up and Mrs. Greenly is a librarian. They're good people.

And so now, I'm the one to go get Zelda's stuff because she can't stand to go back there. The whole place is CRAWLING with cops. The house is all taped off and the police are positioned outside. I pull up and a cop walks over to my car.

"Who are you and what do you want?" he asks.

"Sheik Baldwin," I say. "Is Officer Ingo here?"

"If he is, it is no business of yours," says the cop. "It would be in your best interest to leave, now."

"Can't you just get Officer Ingo for me?" I ask.

"No," says the officer.

"Fine," I mumble under my breath. I honk my horn once, twice, three times. Everyone looks at me, and somebody yells at me to shut up. "OFFICER INGO!" I shout. Ingo turns. He was talking to some guy in a brown suit and a balding head. I wave amiably at him, and he scowls at me. He turns and says something to the balding guy and then storms over here. I smirk.

"Why do you have to disturb the peace everywhere you go, Baldwin?" Ingo asks me. He's referring to last night, when at eleven my Jeep came thundering in with the engine roaring and then skidded to a halt in front of the station.

"Well, this Officer... _Harlow_," I say, reading the badge, "wouldn't let me through when I asked to see you."

"Harlow, stop hassling people," Ingo says. "Go. I don't care where, just, go."

"But-"

"Go. Get lunch."

Frowning, Harlow walks to his cruiser. "_Get me a frappucino_!" shouts Ingo at him. Harlow waves back in acknowledgment. "It's been a long night," Ingo says, leaning against my car. "Now, what do you want? And don't get cocky. We're turning away everybody, and the only reason you're allowed here is because I know you're involved, and I can turn you back just as quickly."

"Have you found them yet?" I ask, my voice low. I am referring to the Royales. They're gone, all of them, except for Zelda. Even the maid. She's off on vacation or something like that. The police are trying to find her to question her.

"No," Ingo says.

"Have you tried everything?"

"I'm a cop; it's my job. Of course I have."

"You didn't give us bodyguards when you could have."

"Look, Baldwin, you don't _need _a bodyguard."

"Okay, maybe not," I say. "Not after I get my gun back."

"You'll get your gun back when you finish classes. Now, is that all you want? If so, go away."

"No, actually," I tell him. "Zelda is staying with Saria Greenly and Saria is quite a bit smaller than her, and Zelda needs clothes. Can I get in and get some for her?"

"No," Ingo says. "Not even Harlow- who had better not forget my damn frappucino- is allowed in there. Nobody."

"Could you run in and-"

"No."

"Well, what are we supposed to do for clothes?" I ask, frowning.

"Not my problem. Get."

"One more thing," I say. "That desert man that I shot- have you got any leads on him yet?"

"No," Ingo says. "The blood trail led north, but not for very far. He jumped in a car just off of Turtle Avenue and we can't find any more leads. Now go away! I had a long night, and you're giving me a headache!"

"_I'm _giving you a headache, or my _words _are giving you a headache?"

"Get lost, smartass."

Grinning, I back out. I'm not sure what Zelda's going to do for clothes, but I guess we'll figure something out. Or the Greenlys will. They're very hospitable people. I really like them. They remind me of my Mom and Pops. And not many do that.

_SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2009_

Zelda is getting better. She still looks like she's a dam ready to burst at any given moment, but she's gone back to school and is cheering again and stuff. She hasn't laughed in awhile, and I'm looking for a way to cheer her up.

And I think I've found a way.

I remembered the secret I was about to tell her a few weeks ago, before the craziness started. I just kind of forgot about it, and so did she, but I remember now. I think it's a pretty neat secret, but she might not. I _hope _she does. She's going to be the only one to know about it. And with all the stress going on right now...

I'm still nervous as I pull into Saria's driveway. I walk up to the door and knock. My reddish-brownish hair is wet and curled up from my shower. It's usually straight, but when it's humid or wet it's curly. I wait for somebody to answer the door (the Greenlys have kept their doors locked constantly, so I can't just walk in like I used to) and then walk into the living room. Zelda is sitting on the couch, with her legs crossed. She's wearing an old tee shirt and some Soffe shorts. Her hair is wavy and tumbling down her back. She's not wearing much makeup, but enough to accentuate her eyes.

"Hey, Zel-" I say. She holds up one finger, and I stop talking. She's on the phone. She looks upset. I tense up and my hand twitches to my stomach, where I keep my holster usually. The cops gave it to me. I just stick my gun in it and I pull it out and BAM. I have two holsters, the stomach one and the ankle one. It's like a sock with a big hole in it that the police showed me how to use. The stomach one is quicker to get, but I like the ankle one better. It makes me feel like James Bond.

"How did you get this number?" Zelda asks. "Yes, it matters!"

"Who is it?" I ask, crouching down. This may look strange to some people but I do it to get in a better position to grab my gun if necessary.

"I don't know," Saria says, looking slightly worried.

"NO!" Zelda yells. I would be alarmed, but she doesn't look scared. She looks mad. Really, really mad. "You have _no _idea what I'm going through, or what you've put me through-" Zelda stops. "Based on what you've _done, _why would I _give _you a chance?!"

"Did she and Link break up?" I ask.

"No," Saria says. "I didn't think... He's in the bathroom right now."

"Not everyone! And don't call me that! You don't know me! ... Not anymore! Look, I don't know how you got this number, or why you're calling, but I have to go," Zelda hangs up her phone.

"Who was that?" I ask.

"Nobody," Zelda grumbles.

"Zelda, who-"

"NOBODY!" she shouts. Saria and I are quiet.

Great. I'm about to show her the very center of me, and she's in this kind of a mood.

"Zelda," I say. "Remember the surprise from a few weeks ago?" I suddenly realize how stupid and stale that line was. Oh, Goddesses. This was a bad idea.

"Yeah," she says curiously.

"Want me to show it to you?"

"Yeah," Zelda says, getting up. "Do I need to put on something nice?"

"Nah," I say.

"Okay," she says. "Saria, will you tell your parents and Link where I am?"

"Where are you going?" she asks.

"No idea," she says. Saria looks at me. I bend down and whisper the location in her ear. She raises an eyebrow and nods. "Have fun. And good luck," she mutters to me.

"Thanks," I mutter back. I head out to the Jeep, and Zelda follows me. I climb in the driver's seat. We drive for awhile. I don't want to say anything and risk darkening her mood further.

"It was Miguel," she finally says after I pull off of the dirt road and onto the main street that leads into Castle Town. "Miguel is the one who called."

"What'd he want?" I say, remembering with perfect clarity Zelda's stalker.

"He wanted to meet me. I don't know how he got my number."

"You said no, right?"

"No, Sheik," Zelda says sarcastically. "Can I have a hint at where we're going?"

"Well, I'm in a gracious mood, so, yes," I say. "You have been here before."

"How many times?"

"Once, that I know of."

"Ah! That's not really a hint!" Zelda says. I shrug. "One more?"

"No," I say.

"Please?"

Zelda continues to beg, and I eventually just stop saying no and start ignoring her.

"Please?" she says again.

"We're here," I say, pulling to a stop.

"Where's here?" Zelda asks. I get out of the car and walk around to meet her. I shut the door behind her.

"The music shop I took you to when we had to pick up your sister," I say.

"Why?" Zelda asks. "Are we walking somewhere else?"

"Nope," I say, leading her in the building. Zelda frowns. "Just hold on," I say. I greet the guy at the counter.

"Sheik," Zelda says. "_Why _didn't you tell me we were going out in public, so I could put something decent on?"

"Oh, nobody here cares," I say. I walk to the back of the store, where a purple curtain is falling down to the floor. I push it aside and wait for Zelda to walk through, and then I follow her. "This is my favorite place in the world," I say. "I've been coming here since my parents died."

"This is... great," Zelda says. "Not really my thing... but great."

"You're changing," I say. "A month ago, you would have said 'EWW dirt EWW sweat EWW germs EWW I HAAATE this place, take me home!!'" I say, mimicking her. She sticks her tongue out at me.

I've taken her to the back room, where guitars are hung up on the wall and taking up every inch of space. I love music. I can lose myself in it so, so easily. It really helped me cope when my parents died. "Watch," I say to Zelda. I walk over to the wall and take an acoustic guitar off the shelf.

"You play?" Zelda says.

"A bit," I say.

"Do you sing?"

"In the shower."

"Are you very good?"

"The shower head is my only fan, if that tells you anything."

Zelda laughs, and I smirk. I put the strap around my neck and I sit on the leather bench in the center of the room. Tentatively, Zelda sits beside me. I begin to play (A/N: http://www (dot) youtube (dot) com/watch?v=Cjc458Se6nM . I don't know who is playing this or who wrote this, but kudos to you, you both are great!!! In honor, I'm letting the readers imagine that this is the song Sheik plays. So, visit that page and listen while you read this.).

The music flows from my fingers, and I pause. I make a face. I hit that note wrong. Oh well; Zelda didn't notice. She's staring at me, her eyes wide with wonder. I forget Zelda and just listen to the music. I don't even really have to think about it anymore. I just play. I hit the note with harder velocity, when I think of Link. I let the music drop to a soft volume and I pick up the pace. I keep it simple. I look at Zelda. She's looking very absorbed. I smile and keep playing. I close my eyes, and then I hit the ending chord. Neither of us speak.

"That was amazing," Zelda whispers.

"Thanks," I say. "You're my only fan."

"Who wouldn't like that?" Zelda asks.

"I mean, you're the only one I've showed."

"_Why_?"

"I don't _really _know how to play."

"Don't be modest."

"No, really," Sheik says. "I bought a guitar book and learned a little bit from it, but I don't remember much. I just hear a song on the radio and I mimic it. I'm musically talented and I learn more from sound than by reading."

"Imagine how good you'd be if you took lessons," Zelda says. "Do you have a guitar of your own?"

"No," I say. "I just come here on a regular basis and practice. It's like my religion. The manager doesn't care, as long as I don't ding anything up."

"Sheik, I don't believe you're not a good singer," Zelda says. "Will you sing for me?"

"Nooo, no way!" I say. "It was hard enough just to play for you! _Singing_?"

"Oh, come on. Don't be a pansy."

"No."

"Please?"

"Don't look at me like that! Oh, fine," I say. I wrack my brain for a song to play and sing to. I think of a good one. I cough, and then play a little.

"_Your smile, blinds me  
Your laughter, quiets me  
The way you say my name  
Makes me... fly_

_Oh, you make me fly like no other can..."_

Ifeel like a total idiot, but I keep going.

_"Like no other can..._

_I wish I were with you  
Every moment,  
Every second,  
That I'm alive, I'm wishing  
Wishing for you  
Wishing-"_

"Sheik," Zelda says breathlessly. I instantly stop. "Who- who's song is that?"

"I don't know," I lie. "I heard it on the radio. Some band called 'The Hoovers'." This is a total lie. I wrote this song. About her. Which is why she can't know I wrote it. She'll suspect I have feelings for her. And that can't happen.

"That's..." Zelda trails off.

"See why the shower head is my only fan?"

"Well now you have two," Zelda says breathlessly. I feel like I'm flying, but I just smile.

"Thanks," I say.

"Sheik..." Zelda whispers. She just keeps staring at me, like she's never seen me before or something. Zelda puts her hand on my knee. She's shaking. I would be, but I'm too stunned. Zelda leans forward and starts to close her eyes. My heartbeat picks up. I turn a little bit towards her, and she puts her other hand in my hair. I lean closer until I can feel her sweet breath on my face. I stop. Zelda leans in closer, and I can actually feel the heat from her lips.

And then her phone rings.

We both leap apart, and neither of us are sitting on the bench anymore. I cough and look away awkwardly.

"My phone," Zelda says loudly. She reaches into her pocket and pulls it out. "Hello?" I turn and stare at the guitars. I'm trying to control my breathing, and forget about what _almost _happened. "WHAT?" Zelda yells. "I'll be there!" She hangs up the phone. "Sheik!" she yells. I turn around.

"Yes?"

"They found Aryll!"


	16. Chapter 14: Zelda Royale

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: La la la la la la la.... I am in a really good mood for some reason, and so I will write, but I am not sure how this will work out, because this is supposed to be a solemn/sad chapter. Zelda's POV. Song: "All These Lives"- Chris Daughtry

_Oh Goddesses._

_Oh Goddesses._

_Oh Goddesses._

_..._

_Aryll?_

_Will... will you still be..._

_Aryll?_

_WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2009_

"Speed!" I scream. "_Dammit, Sheik, hurry up!_"

"I'm trying!"

"No, you're not!" I yell. Sheik hits the pedal and pulls out of the parking lot.

"Where are we going?" he calmly asks.

"Police station!" I yell. I don't see how he's keeping his cool. I though my sister, my baby sister, was dead. But she's not. She's alive. _And they've found her. _"HURRY UP, I COULD WALK FASTER THAN THIS!"

"Cool off, Zelda!" Sheik says, a bit irritated. "Me getting a speeding ticket and or getting us in a wreck is not going to help anything!" I don't say anything, but I clutch the sides of my arms so tightly it leaves long, pink marks where my fingers were. Sheik pulls into the police station and I fling open the door. I fly out of the Jeep and sprint up to the front door. I run in to the main desk, and, without thinking, scream at the lady behind the desk, "Where's my sister?!"

"Gee, Zel, wait a second," Sheik says.

"Officer Ingo?" says the lady, looking kind of scared.

"What now?" Ingo barks. He comes waddling out of some door. He sees me, and then he sets his sights on Sheik. "Shoulda known it was you. Noise follows you wherever you go." He stares pointedly at me.

"Please! Aryll!" I gasp.

"We called you," Ingo says, "because you are the only family member we could get ahold of. The Greenlys seem to be your surrogate parents for the moment, so-"

"ARYLL."

"Fine, fine," Ingo says. "We must urge you not to touch her, her state of mind is very fragile at the moment."

Oh, Goddesses. Is he trying to say she's crazy now? I feel like I'm going to throw up. Whatever. Crazy or not, I need to see my sister. I can't even say words, really; I just hold my arms out in front of me like a zombie. I don't know why. Something in my subconsciousness just takes over. I feel Sheik stand beside me and put his arm around my shoulders, not romantically or possessively, but like he's just a good friend wanting to say "I'm here for you". At that moment I desire Sheik's company more than I ever have before. Ingo walks back into the room he just came from, where Aryll and several other policemen are waiting for us.

My heart stops.

Aryll is sitting in a chair, wrapped in a multi-colored afghan. She's shaking like a leaf. Her eyes are shut and her hair is greasy and uncombed. Dirt streaks her face and her eyes never stay open for more than a few seconds before she squeezes them shut and whimpers.

"I want to go home," she says pathetically.

"That's all she says," Ingo says. "We wanted to know, could that have any alternate meaning?"

I look at Ingo, disgusted. "What in the _hell _possible meaning could 'I want to go home' possibly have?!" I shriek.

"Zelda," Sheik says, squeezing my shoulder in warning.

"I'll forgive that," Ingo says, his eyes in slits.

"Um," coughs another officer, "may I suggest we take her home and see if she snaps out of this reverie?"

"A fine suggestion," says Ingo, "but I think we need to bring in a child psychologist."

Oh Goddesses. Oh Goddesses. Oh Goddesses. _A psychologist_? Good Goddesses, my sister _is _crazy now. I'm surprised when I touch my cheek and find it wet. Sheik gives my shoulder another squeeze.

_LATER_

It's now nearing dusk. Link and Saria are here now, too, and so are Mr. and Mrs. Greenly. Well, they _were_. We went to the psychologist and everyone waited outside in the tiny room that smelled like cedar (apparently they took Aryll to a high-class hard-to-get-a-hold-of psychologist. They usually have to make appointments to get in, but when you're a cop, I guess nothing's off limits) while Aryll and Dr. Darunia spoke with each other. Darunia is a big man, with a barrel shaped chest, olive skin, brown eyes, and white hair. His voice was deep and rumbling. This kind of person scared _me,_ and I wonder how Aryll took it. No one else was allowed in.

Dr. Darunia came out with Aryll following, her eyes wide and blank as if she were in some kind of stupor. She sits down numbly beside me.

"Alright," Dr. Darunia began, sitting down in a chair that was entirely too small for him. "It is human nature that when we are put through something so horrific, so terrifying or terrible, such as child molestation or abuse, that our brains start to shut down."

Oh Goddesses. I can feel myself beginning to cry. Is he trying to say Aryll is brain-dead? Or going to die? Or has some kind of medical condition in which her brain becomes numb and no longer functions? Dear Nayru, what if her brain melts? Oh, Goddesses, I'll just die too, I know it...

"We become more instinctive," Darunia continues. "We don't necessarily respond to the actual words, but more to the tone of voice and the way in which the words are delivered, the body posture, and the facial expressions. For instance, if you were to say 'I like your shirt', but your voice was gruff and you were looking away, she may take this as she were being scolded. This usually only happens early on in the healing process, or when the traumatized child is thinking about the trauma."

"The healing process," I repeat. "That means... she'll get better, right?"

"Yes," Darunia says. "You may want to take her to a medical doctor to check out there is no physical trauma, but it looks to me as if this is all mental and she will eventually get over it. You should make regular appointments for her to come back here, and carefully look after her at home."

Darunia talked a bit more, but I tuned him out. She was going to get better. _She was going to get better_!

And so, after that, we took Aryll to a physician. He inspected her and took an MRI of her skull. The MRI results won't be back for a few days, but it all looks so far that everything is purely mental.

Aryll still hasn't said anything but "I want to go home".

So now, we're on our way to our house. Aryll, Link, and I are in the back of Officer Ingo's patrol car, and Officer Harlow is in the front seat with him. Behind us is another cruiser, followed by the Greenlys and Sheik, who are in the Greenlys' Suburban. Aryll is lying across my lap. I'm holding one of her hands in my left and running my fingers through her filthy hair with my right. Nobody has said anything. There is nothing to be said.

"Aryll, look," I whisper as we round the corner and our huge house comes into view. "Aryll." I gently shake her awake, and she sits up. "We're home." I feel like crying. Aryll looks at our house for a moment, and Ingo pulls to a stop in front of it. It is still taped-off and has a cruiser in the driveway, but it's empty other than that.

"This isn't home," Aryll says, confused.

"Yes, it is," I say. "We've lived here for-"

"No," Aryll says, hysteria and panic taking over. "I want to go _home_."

"Aryll, honey, you are home," says Officer Harlow. "This is your house."

"No!" Aryll shouts. "I want to go HOME!"

I feel like bawling. I feel like crawling in a hole and just _dying. _Why? Why me? Why? WHY can't Aryll just be normal? WHY did we have to drag the Roswell Gang into this? If not, Aryll would be normal. _I would have my family._

Suddenly, I hate Sheik. I hate Sheik more than I have ever hated anybody before in my entire life. I just wish he would go die. _I _don't want to die anymore, I want to _kill _Sheik. It's _his _fault. _He's _the one who guilted me into this. It's his fault.

It's all his fault.

I put my head on Link's shoulder and cry, hiding my faces and trying to stay quiet, so as not to alarm Aryll. Not that she notices. I don't think she even knows who I am.

_I'm walking along a dark hallway. Gunshots are firing off behind me. I can't remember exactly why, but I know they're aimed for me._

_They're aimed for the kill._

_I feel like a trapped animal, like I'm being hunted. Being hunted is not the greatest feeling in the world. I swear, I'm gonna go vegetarian now, just out of respect._

_Well, I guess if it were beef, they weren't exactly hunted. They were brought up to be slaughtered and never felt this pain and anguish I'm feeling now. Besides, I like a good burger._

_Maybe vegetarian isn't the best idea._

_I scream and duck as a bullet shoots out over my head. I roll aside to avoid the barrage of bullets. Then the dream skips ahead, and I'm standing alone, in a room. I'm crying like I have never cried before, and explosions and screams are heard on the other side of the door. Then, sobbing, I seal a door so I am not destroyed by the blast that will ensue._

I wake up and am startled to find I am actually crying. I gain my composure and dive my head back into my pillow. I try to forget the strange dream and I hear a noise.

Oh no.

I sit up in bed. I pick up my pillow and hurl it at Saria, lying on the floor curled up on numerous blankets. It hits her in the face. She leaps about a foot in the air and then she sits up.

"Zelda, what the-"

"I need to talk to you."

"What's wrong with a simple 'wake up'?"

"Did you hear that noise?"

"No," Saria says, her eyes narrowing. "Did you?"

I get out of bed and creep over to the window. I try to keep my distance as far as possible without being unable to see outside, because in scary movies, the stupid girl who goes over and presses her face against the glass to see the 'noise' always gets killed.

My heart stops. I see a flash of pale white skin and brown hair flit away into the trees. It's the girl we saw at the Deku ruins, I'm positive!

"Where's Aryll?" I ask, feeling a sinking feeling in my gut. Saria's eyes widen.

_FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2009_

Why can I do nothing right? Back at the ruins, I was sent to go listen to the conversations, but I got caught. Not only did I get caught, I got hurt. I lost my family, I almost lost my cool and kissed Sheik. The only thing I did RIGHT was get Aryll, but she was only with us for a few hours before she...

No. I mustn't think about that.

That's why I'm driving. Driving requires concentration. Especially when you go fast, like I'm doing now.

I'm not even alarmed that my speedometer is rising over one hundred miles an hour. It's like a game, kind of. I try to go as fast as I can, and hope nothing runs out in the road. If they do, they die. They lose, I win. A game, really.

What would happen if I lose my concentration, I wonder? I'm going so fast that if I even moved one, unexpected inch on the wheel I would go careening into the ditch. Then I could be with Mom and Dad. And possible Aryll. She never _did _tell us what happened and where they are. Or were.

Hey, I'm on Sheik's street. That was fast. I had better slow down; the street is too tiny to be going so fast like this. I hit the pedal and slowly ease back down to fifty.

Boy, am I glad to have my shiny sports car back. Now Sheik doesn't have to give me rides anymore.

There's his house, right there. And there's-

Without even really thinking about it, I pull into the driveway and park my car. I sit there for a moment, with my forehead rested against the wheel, and then I exit my car.

I walk into the house, letting myself in. I jump and skip over the piles of junk that crowd the floor. It's kind of like an obstacle course. Going on memory, I walk through the house and open the screen door. I step out on the back porch, where Impa is sitting there, crocheting her blanket.

"It's almost done," I say, sitting down in the chair.

"It is," Impa says, not even inquiring why I am here, unannounced. The way she takes it, so coolly, I wouldn't doubt random girls she's met once before come bursting into her house and sit down without even a hello. "How are you today, Zelda Royale?"

"I want to die," I say.

"Is that so," Impa says in her crackling, old voice. "That would be an unwise decision. The Roswellitia Group needs you."

"Like we're getting so much accomplished," I say sarcastically. "We've done _nothing._"

"You've done wonders," Impa corrects. "You've discovered three suspects, have you not? The two men from the ruins, and the woman that was following you? It is a good thing and do not do anything stupid you will not regret."

"How do you know all this stuff?" I ask. We'd agreed not to tell anyone.

"Sheik," Impa says, focused on her blanket. It now trails to the floor and covers her lap and legs. "He comes over every day and tells me everything. I know more than you know I know."

"Why does he-?" I ask.

"I am the motherly figure," Impa tells me. A silence settles over us. "Why are you not at school?"

"I skipped," I say. Impa does not scold me or do whatever I expected her to do. She just stays quiet. I guess that's her thing, her style. She just lets us come around and figure out when we're wrong. And I'm starting to feel more and more guilty about skipping. "Do you ever tell anybody what Sheik tells you?" I ask.

"No," Impa says. "I tell no one. I would not want to violate the bond we have, nor would I want to violate the bond _we _have, Zelda. What is it you want to talk about?"

I take a deep breath and spill everything. The violent thoughts I've been thinking, the feelings I've been having for Link AND Sheik, the stress and guilt... I let it all pour out. Careful thought washes over Impa's face.

"Sometimes, when things get too hard to deal with," she says. "You need to let everything go. Not everything is your responsibility. And this 'Link'- Sheik has told me much about him. He may not be what is best for you. Sheik has always been a loner, and unhappy. Since he has met you, he has nearly always had a smile on his face. This comes at a price, because the old friends he used to have rarely speak with him anymore," Impa says.

"So... What should I do?" I ask. Wordlessly, Impa stands up. She hobbles over to the stairs, her blanket in one hand and her now small ball of yarn in her other. Then, she holds her blanket out over the edge and drops it. I gasp; the nearly finished blanket is completely unraveled in seconds. "Impa!" I say, shocked. "But- your blanket-"

"Sometimes," Impa says, reeling in her string until it is a pile on the deck, "it is best to let go and start anew."


	17. Chapter 15: Sheik Baldwin

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: Oooh I would like to thank Principessa Dell'Opera for inspiring me to keep writing this. I keep alternating between reading a few chapters of her fic Zelda Enchanted (it's great. Go check it out. Now. *Grrr*) and then writing one or two here. Literally. That was how almost my whole day went yesterday, and so far, tod- HOLY CRAP IT'S ALREADY 4?!?!? One more thing, I'm kind of wondering. What are your theories for suspects? Who did it? Why? And in this chapter people are going to start to die. By the end of the fic four people we know by name shall be dead. These characters may have had two lines, or they may have had two hundred. Predictions? This chapter will be a lengthy one... but it is better than where I could have left a cliffhanger. *winks mischievously* **Warning: this chapter contains gore that may be inappropriate for some readers. **You have been warned. Sheik's POV. Song- "Serves you Right to Suffer"- John Lee Hooker

_Ohhh... It hurts... Like no_

_other... Oh, dear Goddesses..._

_I hate you._

_I've never had a cause to hate you before,_

_but here it is._

_Go to hell, you traitor._

_SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2009_

Here we go again with the useless wooing attempts. Why do I even keep trying? Link has clearly set the boundaries.

Did I not tell you about that? Well, not much to tell. Link said one day, "Hey, Baldwin, over here." So, I came. And he told me if I came near Zelda again then he would personally hit me so hard that my head would fly all the way across the world. I would have laughed at the cartoonish image that put in my head, but the deadly seriousness he said it with told me this was not a joke.

So what did I do? Buy the girl a guitar.

It cost a bit of money too. And I don't spend money lightly. So I'm really hoping she comes around when i give it to her. Also, I hope Link does not find out. I'm kind of liking the parts of my face in the parts they're supposed to be in. I'm not looking forward to a rearranging.

I pull up to the Greenlys' house, where Zelda is all the time now. She hardly ever leaves. It's not exactly safe for us, either. Better to stay in isolation.

Or would it be safer to be in a crowded place where we can't be singled out? Hmph. I'll bring that up with Saria later. Maybe it'd be better if... I don't know. Hmph.

Oh, Goddesses. Why are the cops here _again_? It seems like they're always here these days. And that's never a good thing.

I pull into the driveway and walk up to the door. I knock on it, and nobody comes. Impatient, I switch with Zelda. Even though we haven't done it for quite awhile, it still feels as natural as breathing.

I'm in the living room, leaning against a wall. My arms are folded and my brows are knit together. The Greenlys are seated on the couch and Link is standing beside me. Two cops, Officer Ingo and Officer Harlow, are in the room as well. Harlow is walking along the wall, looking at pictures. Ingo is standing in the middle of the room, talking. Something irritating that I notice is that everyone could have heard me knock. Nobody wanted to get it.

Zelda switches back with me, and I'm outside on the porch step again. I look through the little window on the door, and looking slightly angry she opens it for me.

"You _could _have just knocked," she says grumpily, like she didn't like me switching with her and costing her seconds of listening to Ingo rambling on about whatever.

"He did knock!" Ingo says from the living room. "I could hear him all the way out here!"

These loudness cracks are really getting annoying. I'm starting to tune them out.

"Speaking of Aryll," Zelda says, her teeth clenched, "something you've never made clear to me is _why _you sent her here so soon after finding her, and without a bodyguard or anything. If you might have done something, and not just been a lazy cop, then she may still be here."

"Ms. Royale, we know you are grieving for your family, but that is no reason to blame it on those around you," Ingo says, as if Zelda is a child he is comforting. She flips her hair back with one hand but says nothing.

"That's not a good enough reason," Link says. "You had a good opportunity. Aryll was a witness."

"Do _not_," says Ingo, "argue with a cop. I'll have your greasy butt back in jail as fast as you can say 'hoodlum'."

"Hoodlum," Link says. "I'm still here."

"Stop arguing," says Mrs. Greenly.

"Yeah," I add in, leaning on the wall opposite Zelda and Link. "What did I miss?"

"We came over to talk," says Ingo, "because we've found a lead."

"WHAT?" I say. "Why did nobody call me and tell me about it?"

"Preoccupied," says Saria.

"Forgot," Zelda tells me coolly.

"Didn't think I needed to," Link says. I make a face. Why is everyone mad at me? Did... oh Goddesses, did Zelda tell somebody about what almost happened in the guitar shop? I understand Link's already mad at me, but that's got to be the only reason Saria would be mad at me. And why is _Zelda _peeved? She is just as responsible for what almost happened as I am. For Din's sake, nothing even _did _happen!

"What's the lead?" I ask.

"A boy," says Harlow. "Apprehended this morning when he was trying to steal a gold bracelet from a jewelry store. He's a bit younger than Aryll Royale, but not by much. We were talking to him and he started confessing everything. He said that he was the secondary thief for them, and that 'they' were a man called Ganondorf and his uncle, Kafei. The kid has bruises and scars up and down, it's amazing he's not dead. He's abused. It's really a sad sight, looking at him."

"Yeah. Anyway," says Ingo, "He also told us their hideout was in the Deku ruins. And he said that once there was a break-in by a blonde girl and a few others. Any ideas on who that might be?"

"It was us," I admit. Saria shoots me an angry look. "Me, Link, and Zelda." Well, I don't want to get Saria in trouble! Her parents are right there, and they're super-strict!

"You weren't?" Officer Ingo asks suspiciously. Saria shakes her head serenely. Ingo takes her word for it. Who would doubt a smart kid from a good family who can lie so well? Speaking of, who taught her to _lie _like that? "Very well. But, since you all are involved, I have a favor to ask of you. Since you all have been there before, you know the layout of it, correct?"

"Yes..." says Zelda slowly.

"Well," says Ingo, "this is against everything that I have been trained to do, asking a minor for help like this..."

"Technically, I'm not a minor," I say. "I'm an emancipated minor."

"You're different," says Ingo. Then he suddenly snaps his head around and looks at me. "In the eyes of the law, you _are _an adult. It would be safest if you and only you came, because then I can't get in trouble..." he muses.

"No," Zelda says firmly. "We're all in this together."

_And besides, _I think, _what if something happens, and I need to switch back and tell them what's going on? _And then another thought hits me.

"Whatever he's about to ask is obviously something dangerous," I say to Zelda, "don't come." Zelda stares at me, her eyes in slits.

"I'm not _five, _you know," she says. "I've been there before. Heck, I've been further in there than you have!"

"That's true," I admit. "Zelda has been in deeper."

"So it would be wise to take her..." Ingo thinks aloud.

"And it wouldn't be fair to leave me behind," Links says charmingly. "I've been through a lot, too, you know."

"Yeah... Fine, all three of you," Ingo says. For a second, I wonder, what about Saria? But then I remember, as far as Ingo knows, Saria's never even heard of the Deku ruins. "I have a job for you. We want to go to the Deku ruins. Unfortunately, we have no maps, surveillance data, nor a way to find where it is. You three should have all."

"We have no maps," Link lied, "but I'm sure we could remember if given the opportunity to see it in person."

"I agree," Ingo says. "We are going to go back. Tonight."

"So soon?" says Mrs. Greenly, worried.

"The sooner we go, the less time Ganondorf and the uncle have to relocate," says Ingo. "Each moment we give them is another second they become closer to getting away. So, we are asking you right now on behalf of the Hyrule Castle Police Department. Will you work inn cooperation with us?"

"Yes," I say.

"Yes," Zelda says.

"Of course," Link says.

"Well then..."

_ABOUT AN HOUR LATER_

I'm walking out to the Jeep. I'm gonna run home, take a shower, throw some clothes together, and head over to the police station. We're leaving tonight, on a private plane. I'm having mixed feelings about this. I kind of want to stay home and watch TV. I haven't done that in a long time. But then, I know this is for the _greater good _and we could possibly be finding Zelda's family.

Zelda's ecstatic. I'm hoping that she doesn't get her hopes up and crushed. What happens if her family... Isn't with us? Or would that be better, so she can stop wondering?

Oh, here she comes.

"Sheik!" she says, running out to the Jeep. I roll down the driver's window.

"Yeah?" I say. Zelda bounds over to my window (she's too excited to walk, I guess) and stands beside me. Her wavy blonde hair falls down in sheets on either side of her face, and her sapphire eyes are wide and eager.

"Officer Ingo is taking me and Link over to the station just now, so hurry up, okay?" she says.

"Alright," I say. "See you then."

"Okay," Zelda says, smiling perfectly whitened teeth. Her eye catches on the passenger seat. "Hey," she says. "What's that?"

"Ahh, nothing," I say in surprise, switching the gear to reverse. Zelda jumps back.

"Sheik! What is it?" she asks. I exhale sharply, embarrassed. After her mood, I hadn't intended to give the guitar to her.

"It's an acoustic guitar," I say. "You seemed so interested in it after I played, I thought I'd get one for you."

"For- for me?" Zelda says breathlessly. Her eyes are wide, and I'm not sure if they're wide from shock or from fear.

"Yes," I say.

"But you said- you said you didn't even buy one for yourself," Zelda says, her voice shaking. I don't say anything. That's enough confirmation for her. She takes a few steps back, and then she gets all mad. "Sheik!" she yells. "Why do you have to make everything so _difficult_!"

"Well," I say, reaching across the seat and picking the guitar up. "Here. Do whatever you want with it, it's yours." I wrapped it in blue paper (kinda... I'm terrible at wrapping. The more appropriate way to describe it is blue paper scrunched around it and held in place with tape, and a red bow taped to the neck) and put a bow on it. I pass it through the window and Zelda takes it, her eyes wide.

"But- I don't know how to play," she says.

"I'll teach you," I say. "Or, I'll hire someone to teach you," I rephrase when I see the horrified look on her face.

"Sheik..." she says, softly this time. "If Link sees you got me this... Just take it, keep it in the Jeep, I'll come back and get it from you eventually."

"Will you?" I ask, an eyebrow raised playfully.

"Yes," she says, passing it back to me. "I promise."

"How much do you promise?"

"I swear on pain of death," she says, joking. I laugh. We're reading Milkyjavelin (A/N: haha. Code for "Shakespeare") in English.

"Well, how could I not believe that?" I say, taking the guitar. "See ya."

"See ya."

I pull away.

_MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2009_

The only sleep I got today was on the plane. It's probably about two in the morning, and we're prowling outside the Deku ruins. Yes, it was harder to find at night than it was during the day. But Link, Zelda, and I managed it. We're scanning around for an entrance besides the one that we entered the first time, which was obviously the main entrance.

And, it looks like, the only entrance.

"Are we going in?" Zelda whispers. Ingo nods. His gun is drawn, as is mine and Harlow's. There are more here; probably about twenty cops total, plus me, Link, and Zelda. The other cops are spread out in groups of four. Ingo wanted to keep me, Zelda, and Link together, and he also wanted to be there with us, so it's him, us, and Harlow in a group. We've got our guns drawn. We creep around the ruins until we meet the another group. They make a motion at Ingo that means "no", and we wait until we meet the other groups. The last one finally signs "yes, we have found another entrance" to Ingo. Ingo, looking excited, joined our group with theirs. The man who had signed to him showed him the entrance. The "entrance" was a hole in the side of the main building. The hole was about six feet long and six feet wide- a pretty good-sized hole.

"Officer Navi!" says Ingo. A small woman who is very muscular for her size pushes through the horde of policemen and to Ingo.

"Sir!" she says.

"Climb that wall," Ingo hisses. "Tell us what is up there, and if it looks safe to climb." Navi nods, and then very fluidly scales the wall and disappears over the edge.

_WHOA! _I think. _SHE'S SPIDERMAN!_

Officer Navi appears moments later. We all jump when Ingo's radio cackles.

"Sir," Navi says, "it is a five-foot drop into an empty room."

"Would you say it is safe?"

"Yes," Navi says. "The structure seems sturdy, and nobody seems to be around."

"All right," Ingo says. "Move out."

The cops quickly start moving fallen rocks and other objects over and create a boost so the less coordinated ones will be able to climb in. Ingo sends half his men in, and then Link, Zelda, and me. The rest of the cops quickly follow us, and Ingo and Harlow come last.

"Let's keep moving," Ingo says. "We are going to scout out the area and apprehend anyone we find. Be careful and _do not shoot _unless you are threatened; children are kept captive here, and either one of them may dart out, or one of the real culprits may use them as a hostage. Only fire if it need be. Now, let's go."

So we went. Ingo or Harlow always had a hand on Zelda, so as if something unexpected were to happen, they could throw her out of the way. Zelda did not look too happy with them, and kept shaking them off. Me and Link never let her get far from us. It was like Zelda was the prized jewel of our squadron, and we kept her in the center, where there was the least risk of harm.

"Captain," Navi said, who was leading the squadron. Harlow and Ingo lingered behind, making sure nothing attacked from there. For some reason, we all felt as if we were in a horror film. It's an uncanny feeling, let me tell you that. "A door."

"Enter."

Up until this moment, we have been following a cold, dark hallway. Most of the cops have flashlights. Link and Zelda had been given them as well, but they are not on. We move in a tight formation, following as the police squadron proceeds into the dark chamber.

And then, the floor starts to tilt.

"Back!" shouts Ingo, turning around. I grab one of Zelda's arms and try to crawl up. The floor is tilting slowly, but the cops at the bottom who were leading no time to crawl back up. I feel one of the cops grab my hand and yank me up to stable floor. I pull up Zelda, and then she and Link are standing beside me. Some of the cops shout out, and then there is silence. Zelda, Link, and several other cops turn on their flashlights and shine them into the pit below us. About nine of them are down there. "Don't panic!" shouts Ingo. "We'll find a way to-"

And then one of the cops screams. Some kind of giant cat charges out and pounces on it. It rips the cop limb from limb until the screaming seizes. There are several more screams, and then most of us, including me, fire off rounds at the lion below us. But we are too late. More lions charge out from the shadows. Three fresh ones appear for every one that our bullets take down. A deafening noise is in the chamber, between the gunshots and the screams of the humans and cats. And then, after only a horrified minute, all is silent except for our heavy breathing.

We stare at the bloody mass below.

Not a cop has survived.

"How many have we lost?" Ingo asks, quickly doing a head count of those standing above on the platform. "We started out with twenty-three," he says through clenched teeth, "and we now have fourteen. Evacuate."

And so it seems we are at the end of our adventure. Nope, not a chance.

We step outside the room, armed and ready for action, to meet another squadron.

But this one is not a police squadron. Heading the force of fifteen or so is Ganondorf, the desert man. With a smirk, he fires the first round. A massive gunfight ensues. Zelda and Link drop to the ground, and I quickly cock and reload. Ingo hits me on the back, and then I collapse.

"Get out!" he says loudly enough that I can hear but no one else can over the commotion. "Get Royale and Finlay out as well! I don't care where, but get as far away as you can!"

"But-"

"Go!" Ingo springs up and helps his men. He shoots off a round. Cursing, I crawl through and avoid getting stepped on until I find Zelda's blonde hair and Link's broad shoulders.

"We have to get out!" I shout to be heard over the commotion. "Come on!" Link and Zelda don't need to be told again. They get up, and I run through a door.

"Let's go back, not get more lost!" Zelda yells.

"We can't, if we go back, we'll get- OH!" I scream as a gun goes off. I collapse to the ground again, landing hard on my knee.

"SHEIK!" screams Zelda. I feel Link wrench my gun away from my hand.

"I'VE BEEN SHOT!" I shout. My back is throbbing and I can hardly breathe, so my "shout" probably came out as more of a squeak. I wait for more gunfire but no more comes. Struggling to breathe, I look up at my attacker...

... and Malon Ackerman peeks out from behind her curtain of copper-colored hair.


	18. Chapter 16: Zelda Royale

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: We are nearing the end... All I have to say... is... THANK GOD IT'S ALMOST OVER!! Haha, it's been fun writing, but I'll be glad when it's over. *whew* Zelda's POV. Song: "Complicated"- Avril Lavigne

_Why do some things have to_

_be so difficult? I mean, some stuff_

_is just sooo simple._

_But then other stuff... *cough, cough*_

_SHEIK BALDWIN *cough, cough*_

_is just so difficult._

_MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2009_

Thank the Goddesses for bulletproof vests. Sheik would have been dead if not for that. He was turned around, talking to me and Link, and Malon shot him in the back of his stomach. It's all purply, bruised, and there's a giant knot. After the initial shock that it was MALON, there was another shot that found its target.

I never thought I'd see the day Link Finlay would shoot Malon Ackerman. And then throw her over his shoulder and start running.

"Sheik!" I yelled, crying. Even though I knew he was wearing a bulletproof vest, the way he was thrashing around made me wonder... "Sheik, are you okay?"

"Well," he said, rolling over and lying on his back. "I just got shot. Make your best judgement."

Good, sarcastic, Sheik! I cried out and hugged him, and it was kind of awkward because I was lying on top of him for a moment. "Get up, we've got to get out of here!" Sheik yelled. I sprang back and stood, and Sheik slowly stood up. His face was pale and he looked like he was in some PAIN. He also looked very, very angry. "Where's my gun?!" he had demanded.

"Link took it, shot Malon," I said quickly.

"He beat me to it," Sheik growled. "Where are they?"

Me and Sheik ran through the ruins, following the blood spots that followed Link and Malon. We came to a window that was rather low on the ground, and we jumped out.

"Link?" I shouted. "Malon?"

"Shh!" Link hissed. Me and Sheik walked towards the sound of his voice and through the night. Link reached out and waved. I ducked behind a rock with him, where he was waiting. Sheik ducked by me.

"If I had my gun..." he said, scowling at Malon. Malon was bleeding profusely from the chest. I gasped when I saw the bullet hole, but it was nowhere near the heart. Malon didn't look like she could speak.

"We need a doctor," Link said.

"Why?" Sheik said darkly.

"I'm not a killer!" Link told us. He took off his shirt (he looks very good without a shirt, I may add) and pressed it against Malon's chest to try to stop the bleeding. Her face was paler then usual. It scared me. "What do you think we should do?" I asked. "Should we wait here for a cop, or should we go try to do something?"

We could still hear the gunfight going on inside the ruins. "If we stay here, we're more at risk to be caught," Sheik said. "But do we know how far off town is?"

We did. Town was about three miles away. Too far to walk at night, in a foreign territory, with people who may or may not be chasing you. But then, if we waited much longer, something might happen to Malon.

Did I care? She'd tried to kill Sheik, and would have, too, if not for the vest. I think it was mostly the shock that kept her from firing on me and Link. She wasn't expecting us to be there any more than we were expecting her to. Before I could think much harder on this touchy subject, an Officer came barreling past and executed a perfect roll, running into Sheik and sending him flying.

"Agh!"

There was a static noise. "I found 'em, Chief Ingo."

"I can _hear you, _Officer Jabu," Ingo said dryly, stepping out from the shadows. "Officer Jabu, get these kids to the nearest hospital. I'll stay back and wait for the survivors."

"How many have we left?" I asked, my heart racing. Ingo did not answer me.

"Get them out of here," he said under his breath before running back to the ruins. I watched him go, and I screamed when I saw the brunette that was stalking us run in after him.

"Shh," Link said to me.

And that was how we found ourselves at the hospital. They took in Malon really fast and we lost track of her. The cop went with her, leaving me, Sheik, and Link unattended. The doctors quickly swooped in on us, though. They took our vitals, and examined us. I was first, and then they brought in a male doctor and examined the boys. Sheik took a little bit longer. Sitting out in the waiting room, I felt a little bit nervous. Sheik finally came out, looking a bit irritated.

"They said I'm gonna feel sore for a few days," he said. "Some _smart _doctors they have running this place," he sarcastically added. I thought about mock-punching him in the shoulder, but then decided I didn't want to injure him further. Even if the injury was on his back.

After an hour, the cop comes back to us. "She's asking for you," he says gravely. I feel the blood drain from my face.

"How bad is it?" I ask.

"There is a good chance she is not going to survive," the officer says. "That's the only reason we're letting you come in."

"The three of us, or just Zelda?" asks Link.

"Just Royale," says the officer.

"How many other police survived?" Sheik asks in a low voice. The officer hesitates.

"The captain and two others."

"Harlow's dead?" asks Sheik.

"Yes," says the officer gravely. "He was killed by Ganondorf."

We all reel in the shock for a moment, and then I stand up. "I'll see her," I say quietly. The Officer nods, and then starts walking through the hospital.

How strange. A few months ago, Malon Ackerman was my best friend. Now, she is dying. Because she shot Sheik, who is my best friend/crush/irritating because he comes between me and Link, who one month ago I hated but who I now love. Link, who I hated, shot Malon, who I loved, who is now my enemy, because she shot Sheik, who blurs the boundary of friend and boyfriend for me.

I have a headache.

The officer leads me through the halls and up an elevator. I don't pay attention to what floor we're on or what room, I just kind of walk numbly and try to process all that has happened. Then, the officer leads me into a room. I immediately let out a wail, and cover my mouth, embarrassed. The tears that follow are silent.

Malon is lying in a bed. Her face is a yellowish shade, and she has tubes coming out of her chest. When she breathes, only one side of her chest goes up. Malon is crying as well.

"Malon!" I cry.

"Zelda!" she cries back. It's interesting, despite what just happened, we're still best friends. I can remember clear back to when we were five years old, and I start crying harder. "Zelda, my lung was punctured," she says softly and quickly, "and it was too long to get to the hospital. My lung collapsed. They've done a small surgery, that's what took so long, but they're going to do another one after my parents get here and sign a paper. Oh my Goddesses, it hurt so bad."

"You shouldn't've shot Sheik!" I say, angry now. "What did he _ever _do to you!"

"I didn't mean it!" Malon wails. "I was forced!"

"How so? _You _were the one who fired the gun," I say. My tears now turn to tears of anger. "_Nobody _squeezed your hand and made you press the trigger."

"Blackmail," Malon says. "I took the SAT early, remember?" I nod, and Malon's hand shoots out. She grabs a chunk of my hair and pulls me close to her face. "I cheated," she says. "I won't go into detail, but I cheated on the test. Oh, I regret it, so, so much. But somehow they found out, and one night, the desert man-" Malon spat, "-came to my house. He held a knife to my throat and told me if I didn't help and feed information about you, not only would he kill my family, he would also tell everyone that I cheated! Oh, Zelda, it was horrible!"

"How do I know you're not lying?" I ask venomously.

"Look into my eyes," Malon says, pushing me away from her so I can see her face. I look into her eyes and I can see she's telling the truth. I start crying harder. "You believe me, don't you?"

"How can I _not_?" I ask.

"Good," Malon says deviously. "Now, they can't do anything. They can't hurt me. They-" Malon suddenly has a coughing fit. Her face contorts with pain and my heart goes out to her. Oh, I've missed her. "Zelda, and Officer What's Your Face- there are two important things you need to know about," Malon says.

"Wait," the officer says. He pulls a tape recorder out of his belt and presses a button. He nods.

"You need to know," Malon says. "They have a weapon. I can't tell you what it is, because I'm not sure myself. But Kafei- he's the ringleader- shows it to the kids to terrorize them into obeying. All the kids go in normal and come out dazed and scared."

"Aryll," I whisper, remembering the look on her face.

"Kafei," Malon says, "_is insane. _He- he tried to take me as his wife, in the beginning. But I refused, and eventually he came around. He's insane. He lost a few bolts whenever his wife died. He planned to kill himself tonight, to be with her. But your party ruined it, thank Goddesses. He's a very theatrical man and wasn't just going to settle for killing himself. Anju- that's his wife, he rambles about her constantly- always wanted lots of children. That's why he's been kidnapping. He's been stealing, too. You remember in history, the mummy people believed that when they were buried, the stuff they were buried with went to the next life with them? Kafei believes in that. He wrote this love letter to her. But anyway, his plan is to get the children all around a table. They all have a poison in their drinks, and they were going to drink them at exactly the same time. The children listen, because they're brainwashed. Since seeing whatever the weapon is, they just obey."

"Oh, Goddesses," I say, thinking of how close Aryll had come to dying tonight.

"That's why Aryll disappeared from your house," Malon says. "She was under orders to say 'I want to go home' and psyche you guys out, and then to just leave when you were fast asleep."

My thoughts fly to that night, and I remember the lady I saw running away. Why was she there, then?

"That is the plan," Malon says. "And Kafei is a very quick-acting person. You've got maybe an hour before he tries again."

"Oh, Goddesses," I say. I feel sick. "I can't go back there."

"You have to," Malon says. "But anyway, the weapon- he plans to release it. It's something _alive. _I heard the screaming... It was awful. And the smell..." I get goose bumps. "I told you he's theatrical. He's going to release the monster. Tonight. The door he keeps them in is made of glass and is sealed. There is a timer and it _was _set to be released at 12:00, but you guys killed that plan. Like a said. You have a few hours. And if you let them get _out-_ my Goddesses, everyone will be dead. There is one that he keeps set apart from the others, to put fear in people's hearts. The only way to kill the beasts is fire. A bomb would do it. Officer, you need a bomb. A powerful bomb." Malon gave us instructions to get to the door where the beasts were kept, and how to unlock it. She said that they stuck to the back, and that it was a very long tunnel. The bomb was going to have to have a detonator. Somebody was to roll the bomb down the tunnel as hard as they could- a strong person, so they could get it far- and then seal the door and set off the detonator. It was the only way.

"One more secret," Malon says, "the locket. It is not," she starts struggling, trying to pull at something, "as it seems." She pulls out the golden locket me, Link, and Sheik had seen Ganondorf steal so long ago. She hands it to me. "This locket has powers," she says. "_You have to destroy it._"

"Why?"

"Dark things," Malon tells us. "This locket has a dark magic spell over it. _It is a very evil thing, especially in the wrong hands. Destroy it. Do not let Kafei get it._"

"What do you mean?" I ask, spinning the innocent-looking locket in my hands.

"It can bring dark spirits from the dead. It can be used to control people," Malon says. "It can make you so powerful you are intoxicated by it. It is an evil thing, and Kafei wants it more than anything in the world. He may put off the deaths for as long as he possibly can to get ahold of the locket. He wants to give it to Anju. I swiped it before the gunfight started. He is most likely going to send somebody to kill me for it, but I don't care anymore. Let him!"

"Malon-"

"Zelda, wear it. When it speaks to you-"

"What?"

"-_do not listen. _You hear? DON'T LISTEN TO IT!" Malon screams. I jump.

"Okay, okay!" I say, putting the gold locket around my neck. The metal is cool. "What do you mean-"

_Hello._

"Agh!" I shout. "What- it just-"

"It just talked to you," Malon says gravely. "It'll ask your wishes and do not answer. Remember the story of the monkey paw thing, where everything they wished for turned against them? It's kind of like that."

_I see your deepest desires._

I wrench the locket off of my neck and stick it in my pocket. "No!" Malon says, panicked. "It might get lost!"

"If it can talk, what if it can move?" I say. "If it's so evil, what if it tries to strangle me?"

"It won't," Malon says. "Believe me. If it could have, it would have killed me. It hates me."

_That is true, _says the locket as I slip it back around my neck. _Now, what would you like?_

"Do not ask it to destroy itself," Malon says. "That's too vague. It could start some kind of process and not be destroyed for fifty years. And don't say 'destroy yourself right now', because it might explode with enough power to kill you and everyone around you. The smartest thing to do is to ignore it."

_Do not listen to the redhead. She is a bad, bad person, _the locket says to me. The hairs on the back of my neck rise.

"Zelda," Malon says. "Officer. You guys have, at most, an hour. I know Kafei, I've been around him since you got involved. He will delay as long as possible, but he will go on with the ceremony if he does not have the locket. Go. _Fast._"

* * *

_TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2009_

It still feels like the same day, but it's past midnight, so I guess it's Tuesday now.

Ingo called in for backup during the gunfight, and a private plane full of cops was waiting for us when I got out of Malon's room. Ingo, the officer, me, Link, and Sheik went to a hotel room where we wouldn't be overheard. The officer played the tape for them, and their eyes all got wide.

_Hey, that's me, _the locket told me when Malon started talking about it. _Would you like me to do something for you?_

I itched to take it off.

Ingo quickly devised a plan. "We have a hostage situation," he told us, "but not enough time to call in snipers. I'll make some calls, but we are going to try to crash this party." (A/N: I know that line was lame, but I had to stick it in there. And I did! SQUEE!) Ingo sent a man to get ahold of a pretty big bomb, and he came back with one that was perfectly circular. It had a tiny button on it, and a detonator was in the man's free hand when he came back with it. "Perfect," Ingo said. He turned to Link. "You are stronger than any one of my men, so you are in charge of the bomb. We are going to keep the detonator away from it. That way, if something happens to one of them, only one of them is destroyed, and not both. We will still have a chance." Ingo kept the detonator with the man who had brought the bomb.

And then we had set out.

Now, we are outside the Deku ruins. Me and Sheik are walking around. Sheik is armed, and, so am I, I guess. I have the locket, and they're not going to try to shoot me. For all they know, I could have asked the locket to destroy itself whenever I was harmed. Link is with the cops. They are all protecting him and the bomb, which is good. I wish I were with him, though. I'd feel a whole lot safer.

"Sheik?" I say, panicking. "Did you hear that?"

"You're imagining things," Sheik tells me. "You're creeped out by what Malon said."

"As true as that is," I say, "I heard something."

"No you didn't."

"Yes, I- AHH!"

_I knew you were right, _says the locket. _Would you like me to destroy them for you? _I ignore it. It's not as hard as I thought it would be.

The brunette that's been stalking us comes out and claps a hand over Sheik's mouth.

"Be quiet!" she hisses at me. "You too! You don't want to give away our position!" I'm too scared to say anything. "I'm a secret agent. My name is Ruto Orender." She reaches behind herself and pulls out a badge. I stare at it in disbelief. "I've been hired to follow you around in secret," Ruto says. "I'll tell more later. Now you, stay here," Ruto says. "I've got an eye on you, this is a relatively safe position. You, Baldwin, come on. We're going to penetrate the fortress. Do you believe me?"

_He doesn't._

"No," Sheik says through her hand.

_Told you, _the locket says. _Would you like me to make him believe her? She's right, you know._

I ignore the locket again. Ruto shows her badge to Sheik, and after a moment of shock, she releases him. Sheik looks at her, and then looks at Ingo, who is staring disapprovingly. Sheik points at Ruto. Ingo nods.

"Unbelievable," says Sheik.

"Royale, you stay here," Ruto says. "Baldwin and I will be back in a moment. I need his strength to break in, and the more of us that are over there the better chance we'll be detected. Hold your position."

"Affirmative," I say, mocking police orders. Sheik snickers. Ruto makes a face at me, and then they dash off into the darkness. I wait for the locket to say something along the lines of "Would you like me to illuminate the area for you?", but there is silence. I feel grateful. Its voice creeps me out.

"Since Officer Ruto has given away her secret," says a man's voice (I jump about a foot), "I may as well give away mine. I am Ruto's partner, Ganondorf." I turn and look. The desert man is standing beside me, his gun pointed at the Deku ruins. "I've been on your side since the beginning," he says. "Remember what I said at your house? 'I am not the man you think I am?'? That was a hint. Do you believe me?"

"I guess I have to," I say. "At this point, I doubt anything else would surprise me."

"What did you do to your head?" Ganondorf says, walking over to me. I freeze. He runs his finger along my forehead.

"I didn't think I did anything to my head..."

"Oh," Ganondorf says. Then, without another word, he swipes my feet out from underneath me. My face hits the grass.

_Locket, don't leave me until I say it is okay!_ I think desperately in a moment of panic.

_As you wish, _says the locket's slithery voice. I feel a searing pain around my neck, and then Ganondorf hits me and I black out.


	19. Chapter 17: Sheik Baldwin

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updating, this time it was not my fault!!! I think the news is mainly covering Kentucky, but the storm crossed over southeast Kansas too (it was scary... if I had more time I'd go into detail about the carnage it left behind) and it knocked out the internet until last night about nine. In my haste to hurry up and post, this will be a very short chapter, but will be made up by next chapter, which will be very, very long. Excuses aside, and without further ado: (Sheik's POV. Song- "Here We Stand" by Amber Pacific. Kind of sad, because next chapter is the last REAL chapter. There will be two more after the next one, but the next one is the last one with real action.)

_If I could go back..._

_Back to the day the twins asked/told me_

_to go to that game, would I change it?_

_Would I change meeting the girl of my dreams,_

_however hopeless that may be,_

_would I change it, at all?_

_Would I change how strong, in more ways than one,_

_have I become?_

_The answer is... looking back..._

_There's no way in hell I would._

_MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2009_

"... got it?" Ingo says, finishing explaining his brilliant plan to us. I haven't been playing real close attention. I'll be with someone the whole time. I'm too busy listening to Zelda. I hear a male voice very faintly and my head snaps around. Zelda and the desert man, Ganondorf, are talking! My first instinct is to shoot, and my second is to get someone to check. But, like a coward, I'm frozen by fear as Ganondorf explains that he's Ruto's (the female cop's name) partner. _What? _I think. _Ruto's partner? Whatever, _I dismiss.

"Is the plan clear?" Ingo asks, his voice low and gruff.

"Yes, sir!" everyone says in unison, except for me and Link, who are both a second late than the others.

"Good!" Ingo says. "Go!"

"You're with me, Baldwin," Ruto says. "By the way, sorry I had to knife you earlier. I had to scare you away from involving yourself, but I didn't cut deep enough to hurt you. All the same, I'm sorry. Also, an explanation- you were confused when Ingo wouldn't give you bodyguards- that's because he didn't think it was necessary. I was trained by the best, and hired to follow you four around and make sure you didn't get yourself in _too _much trouble."

"Yeah," I say absent-mindedly as we walk over to Zelda. I'm slightly alarmed when Ganondorf creeps closer to her, and then am shook with sudden fury when he hits her, fury followed by fear when she collapses to the ground. "NO!" I shout. Ganondorf looks up at me, picks Zelda's body up, flings her over his shoulder, and runs.

"What?" Ruto says.

"YOU WERE HIS PARTNER!" I shout in rage.

"Whose?" demands Ruto angrily.

"GANONDORF'S!" I shout again. Ruto's face lights up in rage, and I hit her across the face, the denial dead on her lips. I look at her body with wide eyes.

Oops. I quickly drop down to her body and put my hand on her chest. It is still pumping. Thank NAYRU! I don't know if... bah! And right now, I could not kill her. Not like this, when she can't fight back. I debate running back to Ingo and explaining things, but then decide this would be quicker, if inhumane. By her feet, I drag Ruto over to the bushes and tuck her where she won't be seen.

"Sorry," I whisper in her ear before taking off. I grab Link by the elbow.

"LINK!"

"WHAT?" he shouts, surprised. About ten cops turn around and hiss at us. Link's voice is strained. He's carrying the weight of the bomb. It's about the size of a basketball, and it looks HEAVY. There's a small button on it, and I can't imagine what for. What's the point of a button if you have a detonator? But, whatever.

"Zelda!" I say.

"What about Zelda?" Link says, the blood draining from his face.

"Quick-" I say, my words coming out in a low stream that's nearly inaudible. I cut myself off mid-sentence with "-IDEA!"

"What- just finish! What happened?!" Link demands. Before Link can say anything else, I switch with Zelda.

And everything instantly turns dark. Zelda has evidently come around, though I can't make heads or tails of anything. I wait a few minutes, and then Zelda switches back with me.

"What'd she- whoa," I say. I'm not where I was. Zelda- in my body-, Link, and another policeman had run over to the side of a wall.

"Come on!" hisses Link, vaulting through a window and crawling in. "Zelda said the knockout didn't last very long, it wasn't even really a knockout, it was more of a hit-her-to-make-her-weak thing. She said she was too out of it to fight back before they got through this hole, and when she did fight back, he put a bag over her head. Then she switched with you. Got it?"

"Who's that guy?" I ask of the policeman as I follow Link into the hole.

"That's the guy with the detonator," he whispers. "Our goal is to get it, help get the kids out, and set off the bomb. They're sending in others after us. Now _come on_!"

We crawl through the structure for awhile, and then we fall out of the tunnel. I curse, wishing I'd brought a flashlight. I turn around. It doesn't sound like any cops have followed...

We walk along the dark corridor, the air cold and clammy. I hear hissing, and I'm afraid, but I keep going anyway when the scene where Ganondorf hits Zelda and Zelda falls replays over and over in my head, like a broken record or a bad dream I can't shake.

Oh, Goddesses. What's he doing to Zelda right now? If he does something... My whole vision turns red and I fight back a shout of... disgust. Or anger. I'm not sure what, really. I've never had this kind of experience before.

"Stop," says the policeman, who is leading me and Link. Then, he repeats himself, louder.

He's no longer speaking to just me and Link.

A dark chuckle comes from the darkness, and a man steps out into a sliver of moonlight. In the Deku kingdom, there is only lights in town. No electricity anywhere near here, so the moonlight comes down, undiluted. That makes it appear brighter, and if it weren't for the whole no-electricity thing, it would be because it's a full moon. Nowhere near as bright as it could be, but it's bright enough to expose the face of Ganondorf.

He's alone. The policeman opens fire, and then Ganondorf pulls his hand from behind his back in so fluid a motion I would have missed it. He shoots the policeman's hand and I shout. I reach for my gun.

"Do not pull it out," Ganondorf warns, "or you will be the same." I look at the policeman. His good hand- his gun hand- has been blown clear off. His face is white, with a green tint around the edges.

"Shoot me now," he begs.

"No!" me and Link shout in unison. My eyes grow wide. Ganondorf raises an eyebrow at us, curious.

"What makes him more important than the others who have fallen in great numbers by your sides?" Ganondorf demands of us, his tone even.

"Human lives," I say in the same tone, "are all important. Equally. There is nothing that makes one person more significant, or worth keeping alive, over the other." Which, I guess, is the truth. But the reason Link and I objected is because the man carries the detonator.

And, with a sinking feeling, I realize we won't be able to get the detonator from him. My stomach turns into a hard, cold, rock. Ganondorf shrugs.

"Where's Zelda?" Link shouts.

"Would you like to rejoin her?" he asks. Link and I are silent. That could be a trick question. If he'd- _say it_- killed her, would that mean we were agreeing to our deaths?

"Yes," Link says. No!

"Very well," Ganondorf says. "Come along."


	20. Chapter 18: Zelda Royale

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: I have to give my laptop back Monday. I'll cry. I have an addiction. Sniff. Also, since I am immobilized for the moment, I thought that I may as well go ahead with this. I SHOULD be studying for my finals, but, whatever. Yay for procrastination!!! Zelda's POV. Song- "Hero" by Nickelback

_Hero... or villain?_

_Is what I have done acceptable, considering_

_the circumstances? The death of one_

_to save the lives of many is noble..._

_But by my hand?_

_Are my acts considered acts of heroism?_

_Or villainy?_

_MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2009_

_Where in the hell is Sheik?! _I think, panicking. I can hardly breathe, and I can hear something ominous in the background, like an orchestra. Or maybe I'm imagining things. I think that's it. How could an orchestra be here?

I debate switching with Sheik to find out what's going on before something- or someone- lands hard on my legs. I scream and start kicking.

"OUCH- Zelda?!" says a voice I love.

"Link?!" I say hysterically. I would be crying of happiness but my emotions are so out of tune I wouldn't be surprised if I started screaming instead of crying. I feel stressed out enough to.

"Zelda, get out of the way!"

"Of what?" Not that telling me what would help anyway. I can't see anything, or even move, for that matter. Even if I wasn't bound, the crippling pain in my neck would probably suffice. It hurts to talk.

_Would you like me to relieve the pain? _asks the necklace. Bile rises up in my mouth at its slippery voice. I feel an arm around me, roughly, and it pushes me away.

"Ow!"

"Zelda, it'd help if you tried to move on your own."

"That's a-"

"Ah!"

"AH!"

"Sheik?"

"GANONDORF!"

"What's going on?!" I ask, panicky.

"It's not _that _dark, Zel," says Sheik softly. He sounds far away. Then somebody realizes that I'm blindfolded, and I feel big hands around my head. Then the blindfold comes off, and tears well up in my eyes. Link's face looks concerned, and he looks extremely worried.

"Are you okay?" he asks me. I make a face. "Stupid question?" I nod. Link smiles, and then turns on the rest of my body. "What happened?!" he says, in a state of panic. "To your chest?!"

"The necklace," I spit.

_At your service, _it says to me.

"Quit it!" I say aloud. Link is still staring at my collarbone, his eyes wide in horror. "I told the necklace not to leave me until I said it was okay, so it took the liberty of embedding itself in my skin."

"_What?!_" Sheik and Link say in unison. I stick my bound wrists out to Link, but he's still staring at my wound.

"I was scared Ganondorf was going to take it to me, so I acted without thinking," I say.

"Can't you get it off _now_?" Link says. "Ganondorf isn't around! Nobody is!"

"Huh?" I say, confused. I wait for an explanation. So does Link. I sigh. "No, I can't take it off now. Even if he's not around right now, he might try to take it later. It's safe here."

"But is it hurting you?"

"No," I lie. Truth is, it hurts. Bad. BADLY. There are oddly no scabs in my skin, but the skin is so tightly pulled over the necklace you can see it clearly. It looks like colored tumors are in my skin. And it hurts. It makes breathing and talking difficult, and it burns. Like a white-hot iron.

_Would you like me to fix it?_

"Here's the bomb," Sheik says. "Very round. Very rollable. Is rollable a word?"

"Now is not the time to be an idiot, Baldwin," Link growls, picking up the basketball-sized bomb. My eyes grow wide. How did it not explode?

"Where is the detonator?" I ask. Sheik and Link exchange glances.

"He went with Ganondorf," says Link. Sheik suddenly puts a finger to his lips. Like a monkey, he scales the wall. _How in the-? _I think. Sheik climbs up the wall. There must be some kind of gripping that I can't see, because he's climbing easily. He reaches a patch of light at the top and freezes. None of us dare to breathe.

"They're gone," Sheik says, hopping down. "And we've found a way out."

"How did you get out?" Link asks.

"Just take a look at the wall," Sheik says. "It's not made of stone. We're underground. The walls- and floor, too- are made of dirt. And to keep it from collapsing in, there are wooden support beams on the walls. Whoever built this was extremely arrogant, I guess, and thought no one would be able to make it out. The beams are only an inch wide, so you have to be strong and have a good grip. They're easy to scale if you dig your fingers in the dirt."

"Ew!" I say.

"Let's go," says Link. "It's suicide if we wait for them and there's a way out. Sheik, I think it'll be easiest if you get out first. I'll hand you the bomb." Sheik nods, and he climbs the wall again. Monkey!

_Would you like me to make you as agile as him?_

_No! _I think, frustrated. The locket does not reply.

"Come on," Sheik whispers. "I'll help you." Hesitantly, I stand up. I force myself to keep moving. The hurt radiating from the necklace makes my whole body sear with agony. I dive my fingers into the dirt wall and try to climb up. I fall, and try again, moving very slowly. "Hurry," Sheik says. "Someone might come any minute." I try harder, and make it further. I fall again, this time landing hard on my back. Link sets the bomb down very carefully and crouches by me.

"Better idea," he says, cupping his hands together and setting them on his knee. I put my foot in his hands, and he boosts me up. Sheik grabs my wrists and they pull me through.

"Thanks," I say, landing beside Sheik. He nods and then reaches down. He emerges from the small black square with a bomb. Panting, he sets the bomb between us. It makes me nervous to have an explosive so close. Link comes up seconds later- am I the only one who can't climb?- and takes the bomb.

"Let's go," he says, strained. Sheik nods and stands up. I hold onto his arm. I would hold onto Link's, if I weren't afraid he would drop the bomb on me or something. Sheik walks along the hallway, with me and Link following. Our footsteps echo throughout.

And then we come to a door.

"Do I-"

"Go," Link says. Sheik draws his gun, and I let go of him. With his left hand, Sheik opens the door. His body follows the barrel of his gun.

"Aryll?" he says.

"WHAT?" I shout. Sheik and Link hiss at me, and I try to push past Sheik, to no avail.

"Enter," says a deep voice. My whole body freezes and stiffens. A chill runs through me. _Run! Run! Run! _screams every inkling of self-preservation in my body, but I can't command my feet to move. To my horror, they move forward, following Sheik.

There is a long table. Around the table sits about thirty kids, ranging from the age of five to about eleven. I see Aryll and resist a shout of joy. I see my parents, as well. At the head of the table sits a man wearing a white suit, black dress shoes, a black tie, and hair so dark it's almost purple. He looks cold, and from the crazed look in his eyes it is obvious he is not completely mentally stable.

"Hello," he says. "You must be the intruders Ganondorf was so worried about. May I have my necklace back, lovely lady?"

"Not a chance," I say protectively. Not that he could get it back anyway. Even if he tried to force it out, it would remain with me. _Until the end of time, _the necklace assures me. I'm not sure if that is comforting or not. The man shrugs.

"We will get it back, eventually. I cannot see my dear Anju without it," he says. "But anyway, if you would like to drag it out until Ganondorf can come, would you like to hear my tale?"

I nod, as does Sheik. "Yes," says Link. This is good. Stalling, while we think of a plan.

"Anju and I were together since we were in diapers," says Kafei. "We played together, we ate together, we did everything together. In school, we were the two partners in crime. Although, we never did actual crime. Anju and I were brilliant, and we were an unstoppable force. The things I did poorly in- history, science- she excelled in. And she was horrible in foreign language, but I was exemplary in that. We were unstoppable. And then she contracted a disease," Kafei says, his tone somber. I look around at all the children. They are all mindless, numb. Even my parents are staring at their plates, completely oblivious. "Cancer of the lungs, the doctors called it. I watched Anju die. We were fairly young, and engaged. The last night of her life, I went to the hospital with the priest. We exchanged vows, and on 'till death do we part' I must admit I cried. I bent down and kissed her frail lips. She was dead within the hour."

Despite everything, I feel a surge of pity for Kafei.

"And the world changed for me," he says. "Everything. In the beginning, I rejected death. Anju, I thought, would not want me to leave in such a feeble manner. But lately, every day has been difficult. Every minute, every second, I have thought of her. And death. I have decided Anju would want me to die, so we can be together at last. But, I decided, she would be initially disappointed. To help cure this disappointment, I would bring her the things to make her happy. Anju had six brothers and five sisters, and she wanted a big family of her own." He gestures to the people around the table. "She also admired this area of the globe. It is where we would have honeymooned," Kafei says wistfully. "So I have a Deku flower with me, to remind her of it. I also have written her a letter that expresses just how deeply I love her. And, a locket that belonged to her mother." Kafei's eyes zero in on my chest. "I do not know how that got there, but it will not be there for long. And if we cannot get it from you, I will kill you and bring your body with me." A shudder rips through me, and a low sound comes from either Sheik or Link, I can't tell which.

"How did you get them so... numb?" I ask Kafei, wishing to keep him stalling longer. I may not have a plan, but one may be formulating with Sheik or Link.

"Simple," Kafei says. "I prayed to the Deku deities and they revived corpses into the living. The corpses are, I must say, a bit dense. But they are superhuman. And they are hungry. They are strong enough to rip your head off of your shoulder with a finger. They are fast enough to swallow you without you even blinking. Their only flaw is that it takes them a moment to react. What I did was show everyone the living dead. They are in their right mind frame, but are too fearful to react in any other way. I keep the zombies below ground, with an unbreakable door sealing them in. All you have to do to open it is pull a lever. It cannot be opened or shut from the inside. I also set a timer on the door to release them at a time that which is convenient for me. The timer, at this moment, is set to release them in about four minutes."

I inhale sharply. "Why?" I ask.

"To give Anju an even bigger family," Kafei says, his smile bearing white, uneven teeth. "The corpses would, eventually, be put down, but not before killing at the very least the entire city. And the Deku Capital is a large city." Again, Kafei smiles.

"ATTACK, MEN!" shouts a voice. Hundreds of gunshots go off at once, and I scream as an entire squadron of police, led by Ruto, pops out of seemingly nowhere. They flood in from every space and attack, shooting at Kafei. He disappears in the confusion. Some cops begin herding people out. People go down almost as fast as the bullets come out, because it seems like Kafei had his own squadron hiding. I'm confused as to where everyone is coming from, but I don't have much of a chance to think before a hand pulls me backwards.

"Sheik!" I shout.

"I'm fine!" he yells back, shooting at someone. "Get out of here!"

"That's not what I meant!" I yell, smacking the hand on my shoulder. "Come _on_!"

Reluctantly, Sheik runs along beside me and Link. I realize the hand on my shoulder was not Link's, but it was a policeman. The man with the detonator. The four of us run silently along, trying to get underground. The police seem to have the situation above under control (at least, hopefully), but we have about three minutes until the zombies are freed and kill us all. We pound down a set of stairs, and then the policeman in front freezes.

"Wait," he says softly, pulling his pistol. He tentatively walks down the hall...

And then there is a massive roar. A lion sprints around the corner and mauls the one leading us. Shouting, Link pushes me back. I fall on the floor, and Link gets beside me. Sheik opens fire on the lion. Its shrieks are bone-chilling. Crimson running down its golden sides in thin rivulets, the skinny lion collapses. I look in horror at the policeman.

Only an arm is left. I begin to hyperventilate. _The detonator, _I think. _The detonator, the detonator, the detonator. Oh, my Goddesses._

"Come on!" Link says, going further through the hallway. Another lion pounces out, and Sheik attacks it. I run along beside Link, screaming for Sheik. Tears snake their way down my cheeks as Link forces me to keep going. Sheik follows, attacking. He's holding his arm and his face is contorted in pain.

"SHEIK!" I yell.

"GO!" he yells back. "I'll cover you!"

_He will be fine, _says the locket. _Would you like me to reassure you?_

The locket has been right every other time, so I follow Link along. We come to a wooden door. Link pushes it open, and I run in. I slam the door shut and lock it.

More eerie, inhumane shrieks await me. I flatten myself against the wooden door, my eyes wide in horror. There is a huge, circular, glass door in front of me and Link. The door shows the walking dead. Link's eyes become cold, dead.

"Zelda," he says flatly, "there is something you have to do."

"What?" I say.

"Swear to me," he says.

"But-"

"_Swear to me,_" he says, his face desperate, his eyes wild.

"I swear," I say. Link takes a long pause and then kicks the wall as hard as he can, as if frustrated I agreed to do whatever it is.

"The detonator," he says, "is gone. There is no backup."

"What are you getting at?" I say, my voice rising up an octave.

"There is a small button on the bomb," Link says. "It is not meant to be used, and only in cases such as these, where there is no detonator. The button is in the surface, so it won't go off if it is dropped. It will only go off if someone pushes it."

"No," I say. I don't even have enough breath in my lungs to _say _it, so I just mouth it. "No."

"Zelda, it's the only way," Link says.

"No!" I shriek, his plan clicking together in my mind. He wants me to shut the door on him so he can set the bomb off and leave me and everyone else alive.

But he wouldn't survive the explosion.

"NO!" I scream, the scream lasting about three seconds. Link winces from the volume. I clap my hands over my ears and drop to the floor, chanting "no, no, no" over and over like some kind of tribal thing.

"Zelda," Link says. "ZELDA!" he shouts. I stop, and whimper. "It is the only way."

"We can wait!"

"We have about two minutes," Link says. "If I go in there and die alone, taking down all of the zombies with me, then it would be better than all of Deku Capital getting destroyed."

I'm sobbing by now.

"Zelda, honey, please, listen," Link begs.

"Make- Sheik- do- it," I choke.

"If you switch with him, even a moment's hesitation-" Link breathes, "the lions will finish him."

I scream again.

"He's got it under control right now," Link says. "There aren't many lions, but enough to kill him in a second. In a few minutes they'll all be gone, but the zombies will be out. And will kill us all."

"Let me go in," I breathe. "Let me set off the bomb."

"No!" Link shouts, angry. "Even if you were strong enough to hold it, why would I _ever _put you in that kind of danger?!"

"You see my predicament," I say breathlessly, rising to look into Link's tortured face. "Link."

"The only way."

"Please."

"It is the only way."

"No."

"Think of your family, upstairs!" Link roars. "In Case A, I would die, and I would die alone! In Case B, I would die, and so would everybody else in this hellhole! And all the Deku! Do you know how many live there? Thousands, Zelda, _thousands_!"

"I can't do it," I say, trying a new direction. "I'm not strong enough."

"You have to be."

"I can't."

"_You have to be._"

"Link-"

"Zelda-"

Link comes close to me, his breath hot on my cheek. "Think of Aryll," he says. "Your mother. Your father. _Sheik._"

I'm crying, but a new strength comes over me, taking over my emotions. I feel very, very numb.

"We have about a minute," Link says, desperately. "_Zelda_."

"I'll do it," I whisper, hating myself. Link looks at me, conflicting emotions in his sapphire eyes. Then, he drops the bomb and kisses me deeply, passionately. I never want to let go of him. I never want to part from his greasy perfection. I always want to be able to look into his eyes. I always want him to be able to say _I love you. _But unfortunately, in both Case A and B, that will never happen. And there is no Option C. How I wish there was. "Forty five seconds," I whisper, breaking the kiss. Link releases me and picks up the bomb. I walk over to the lever on the floor beside the glass door and numbly pull it. With a groan, the door opens up. Link walks through, and I pull the lever again, sealing him in. Link steps over to me, where the glass is. He presses his hand against the glass, and I press my hand up against where his is.

I can't even feel his warmth. Link, smiling, walks away into the darkness. I could have sworn I saw a tear. I keep my hand exactly where his was.

And then, when he's far enough away from me, a zombie lurches out. I scream as it is inches away from him, but before it touches him, Link pushes the small, red button. Fire explodes from him and hits the glass door so fast I'm not sure what happened. The glass door stays the same, but becomes scalding hot. I do not move my hand.

_Get out! Get out! _the locket screams at me.

_No, _I snarl.

Then, the wooden door bursts open. Sheik comes storming in, bleeding. Everything is silent except for the wailing. I'm surprised when Sheik shushes me.

"Get away from there!" he screams after the "shh!". He grabs my waist and tries to move me.

"NO! NO! NO!" I scream, kicking and clawing at him. The wall of fire is in front of us, but it cannot penetrate the glass. It must be coated in something, because it's not melting, nor has it shattered. Then, a tremendous tremor shakes the ground. My screaming stops, and Sheik stops trying to move me. Then there is a loud grinding sound and the Deku ruins collapse on top of us.

_Hero... or villain?_

A/N: AHHHH HOW COULD I DO IT?!? LIIIIIIIINK! NOOOOOOO!


	21. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

_Wouldn't it be horrible?_

_I mean... Wouldn't it be horrible, to be like them?_

_Dreamless..._

_Emotionless..._

_Thoughtless..._

_Almost like the living dead..._

_Wouldn't it be awful to look like that?_

_Yes._

_Yes, it is._


	22. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I own nothing LoZ related.**

A/N: _sniff, sniff, sniff... _This is the final chapter of the Roswell Gang. Tis been a long, long, LONG (long?) and cherish-able journey, but all things must come to an end. And I'm not quite sure how exactly I'm going to end this, so we'll just see. Zelda's POV. Song- "Whenever You Remember" by Carrie Underwood

_I still wake up screaming, some nights._

_Sometimes, it's worse than others._

_Sometimes, I still remember._

_However badly I want to forget..._

_How can I?_

_How can I forget the smile, the laugh, the eyes?_

_I can't forget..._

_I don't think I ever will..._

_MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2009_

I want to die.

I want to die.

I want to die.

Death is almost tangible in the air. Everything is quiet. I want to sleep. I want to succumb to the darkness that threatens to overtake me.

_Kill me._

_Kill me._

_Kill me._

_Would you like me to? _asks the necklace.

_Get out of me! _I scream at it. I don't care how it will turn on me. I don't care anymore. The worst it can do is kill me. And I wish I were dead.

_Very well, _the locket replies. The pain in my collarbone suddenly dissipates and I look down. I am completely normal and the necklace is lying harmlessly on my chest. There's not even a wound where it was.

_Why, oh why, did it choose _now _to be the time that it would be merciful?!?_

I feel a movement, an arm constricting around me. I beat it away.

"Leave me alone," I mumble, but it comes out more like "lemmelone".

"Zelda," says Sheik's hoarse voice, "we have to get out of here."

"No."

"Please?"

"You can't get out anyway, Sheik," I say, my words all melting into a slur. Sheik freezes.

"You're wrong," he says. He sits up and throws rocks off of himself. I close my eyes and refuse to look at him. "You're right," he says, his voice barely above a hoarse whisper. I hear a hollow thud and he falls back.

"Sheik?" I breathe. I open my eyes and try to turn over, but the rocks are too firmly packed on top of me. I can't move. _Good, _I think. _Let me sleep._

_WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2009_

"Zelda. Zelda. Zelda."

No.

"Zelda!"

No!

"ZELDA!"

"What?" I hiss venomously. Why can't Sheik just let me be? I want to die. I'm hungry, thirsty, and tired. I'm wounded. I can't understand why I haven't died or suffocated yet.

"Someone's coming," Sheik says. I panic. If someone got us out, then they would surely revive me!

I start clawing at the rocks, trying to bury myself further. I hear a colossal grunt and then sunlight pierces my eyelids.

"Found them!" says a man. "At least, found Baldwin." Why does the man's voice sound so loud?

"Ingo!" Sheik says. His voice sounds normal. A bit hoarse, but normal.

I hold my breath, determination denying me the freedom to breathe even when my sanity screams at me to take in the crusty, stale air I've been breathing for however long I've been down here. I lose consciousness.

I wake up in a hospital, and I see my mother in the room. She's sleeping. I struggle to remember, and I stare at my heart monitor. The green line rises and falls at exactly the right moment. I start to remember. The lions... Ruto... Ganondorf... Kafei... The bomb... The zombies...

Link.

Oh, Link!

The heart monitor starts bobbing at a rapid pace, and my chest pumps up and down vigorously. I start crying and rise into hysterics. Why can't I control myself?!

The monitor's incessant beeping and my hysteria wakes my mother.

"Zelda?" she says, and then she's crying too. I'm wailing by this point, and thrashing around beneath the sheets. I need out. Out. Out. I NEED OUT OF HERE!

My mother is screaming for a nurse, and then a team of doctors rush in. They slip something in my IV, and I rip it out of my arm. They hold me down and shoot me with some kind of drug. The edges of my vision blur and I stop resisting. The darkness is clouding over my vision.

I welcome it.

* * *

_Back to normal..._

_What is normal, anyway?_

_Impa is still my neighbor, Saria is still my_

_friend, and so is Zelda..._

_Link is gone, the twins want nothing to_

_do with me because I kind of forgot_

_about them..._

_How much longer until everything is normal?_

_SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2009_

I _should _probably be at graduation right now. But instead, I'm driving over to Zelda's. This has gone on long enough. It's time for an intervention, Baldwin-style. Yeah!

I pull into Zelda's house and walk right in, without even knocking. The Royales don't really care. There's nothing worth stealing left in this house, and I'm over here a lot anyway.

"Hi, Sheik," Aryll says, reclined on the ready-to-be-moved couch reading a book. She's been reading since March.

"Hi," I say back. "Where's Zelda?"

"Backyard," says Aryll. I thank her, and then make my way through the house and open up the backyard. The porch is made of this orangish reddish wood and styled ornately. There are a bunch of trees in the backyard, and a bench and a birdhouse. Zelda is reclined on a chair on the porch, the same empty look in her eyes that has been there since Link died.

"Get up," I say, walking over and taking her hand. At one point, this would have freaked both of us out, but at this point, physical force is the only thing that will make her do anything. If it were up to her, she would just lie back there all the time, not speaking, not eating.

Acting dead.

"Why?" she says dreamily, as if she is sleepwalking. She has made herself like this. _I _got up. _I _was screaming so that the excavators would know where to find me and Zelda. _I'm _the one who cooperated in the hospital, and got myself out, because no one was there to help me. I forced myself to get up every day and act like it all wasn't bothering me until I learned how to get out. Zelda, however, is handling everything differently.

Unhealthily.

"Get up!" I say, pulling on her arm. She stands up and I lead her out of the house.

"Bye, Sheik," Aryll says.

"Bye, Aryll," I tell her, leaving. I make Zelda sit in the passenger seat, and I pull out of her driveway. I peel out. I'm mad, and I know reckless driving is probably not the best solace, but I don't care. I have one goal right now, and I'm not going to rest until Zelda is back to normal.

She doesn't even ask where we're going. She doesn't care when I hit the edge of town and keep driving down dirt roads. I drive for hours, and neither of us say a word. What is there to say? All she _ever _says is "yes" and "no", and she only says anything when she is asked directly. It's like talking to a wall.

I drive straight until the sun is just an orange basketball on the horizon, and then I turn right and continue going. Zelda's parents won't care if we're gone late. For one, they like me a lot and they would sing praises if I was taking Zelda to go get her addicted to opium or something. And second, they will be glad she's actually out for a change. I hit the gate at about nine o'clock, and I get out of the Jeep. I don't bother locking the doors to keep Zelda from running. That would require thought, and zombies don't think. I walk over to the gate and throw a stick at it. The stick falls to the ground helplessly, so I climb over it and drop down on the other side. I push a red button, and the gate opens. I walk back through, pleased, and then climb in the driver's side of the car and drive.

I pull over on the side of Lake Hylia, and I get out of the car. I walk over to the passenger seat and make Zelda get out. She walks around and sits on the hood of the Jeep. I cringe, but don't say anything. I lean next to her, and we stare at the choppy waters. I wait for Zelda to say something. I stubbornly refuse. I'm going to get _something _out of her, and I don't care wh-

"Why did you bring me here, Sheik?" Zelda says clearly. I'm surprised. That was faster than I thought. I don't answer her and think of a rational answer.

"You broke a promise," I say, walking around the side of the Jeep. I reach into the back seat and pull out an acoustic guitar from so long ago. I walk back around to Zelda. She stares at it. I can't tell if she's going to say anything or not, so I keep talking. "A long time ago, you promised you would come to my house and get the guitar I bought you."

"You can't expect me to remember anything from that time," she says softly.

"Why not?" I demand. "I did!"

"You don't understand," she says wistfully, tearing her eyes away from the guitar and back at the water.

"I don't understand?!" I say, mad. "I don't _understand_?!" Zelda looks at me, surprised. "Link was my friend, too, Zelda!" I say. "I am _sick _of you not doing anything! You're not who you used to be! You're not handling this how you're supposed to! You won't do anything, you quit the cheerleading squad-"

"-my grades are better than they have ever been... Sheik, how am I supposed to handle this?" she asks numbly. I breathe out, trying to get rid of the anger.

"I didn't bring you here to yell at you," I say, setting the guitar on the hood. "I understand," I tell her. "I understand more than you know..."

Zelda looks at me quizzically. I'm glad to see something besides blankness.

"When my parents died," I begin, "I was sixteen. The three of us were coming back from dinner, because my dad and I had had a fight that day. That's what they did when we had bad ones. They took me out to dinner as kind of a peace offering. But Dad and I got into it again," I say, regret biting on my tongue. "It was over something stupid, but it just escalated. He and I started screaming at each other, and then Mom got in on it too. I told them I hated them. I had never said something like that before, and Dad turned around to look at me." I pause, trying to put off the flood of memories. "When he did, a car came _flying _around the corner and hit us head on. It was some stupid teenager, in a race with another one. The kid was going so fast, it blew us back. Both of our cars were sold for scraps.

"I woke up in the hospital. It had been a week. I had massive trauma to my head, and the doctors kept me in a medically induced coma so I would heal better," I say, remembering the hellish hospital. "My ribcage was splintered, my nose was broken, and I was on pain medication that made me hallucinate. And worst off, I was totally alone. I was informed when I had control over me- but I was covered head to toe in plaster- that my parents were both DOA."

"DOA?" Zelda repeats, confused.

"Dead on arrival," I say. We are both silent for a brief moment. "I was in the hospital for several weeks, and then had physical therapy after that for awhile. I know how it is, I can't really remember much from back then. I had proven myself capable that I could take care of myself, so when they tried to put me in foster care, I went to the courts and became an emancipated doctor. My physical therapist backed me up. So don't _tell me, _I don't understand."

"How-" Zelda cuts herself off. I wait patiently for her to finish her question. "How did you... deal?" she says in a small voice.

"I forced myself to get up and act like it was nothing," I say. "I don't think I did a very good job, though. The twins had to force me to try to be normal. I hung out with them and talked and did schoolwork and stuff, but I wouldn't go out. The night they made me go to the basketball game, where I met you, was the beginning of my new life," I say. "I was dead before that. I _felt _dead, anyway, but I at least _tried _to be normal. Zelda, you're not even trying!" I say exasperatedly.

"But you didn't kill your parents," she whispers. "It's not your fault they're dead."

"The last thing I said to my dad was 'I hate you'," I say coldly. "And that caused him to turn around, so he wasn't looking at the road. I could have prevented it. If we hadn't been fighting earlier, we wouldn't have even been on the road. Believe me, I've thought of a million things I should have done differently, and there's not a day I don't remember."

"That's how it is for me," Zelda says. "I shouldn't've pulled the lever..."

"Link would have found a way," I say quietly. "You know how he was. And if he hadn't, he would have been dead anyway, as would you and I. You did the right thing."

And then something unexpected happens. Zelda flies down from the Jeep and hits me in the chest. She wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me so tightly it's like she's strangling me.

"Am I really that bad?" she whispers, her voice in my ear. I put my arms around the small of her back. "I can't remember anything," she says. "Tell me."

"You weren't even hurt that badly," I say. "They kept you in the hospital because you refused to eat or drink and they had to do it intravenously. When you finally would do it on your own, they let you go home. You would eat when told, sleep when the sun went down, and wake up before school. You didn't bother with makeup, and you still don't. You quit doing everything. You quit the cheer squad, the pep club, and all the other clubs you were in. All you say is 'yes' or 'no', and it's impossible to make conversation with you. You're not Zelda anymore. All you do is study and sleep. I used to think you went to too many parties and didn't pay enough attention to school, but now you've gone extreme. You need to find a happy medium."

"My Goddesses," Zelda whispers. "Am I really that bad?"

"Yes," I whisper. "Zelda, please come back. Please."

"I've been here all along," she says quietly, and then she pulls away from me, slightly withdrawn. I feel a hint of disappointment. She's staring at me curiously, and I wonder what's happening. "Sheik," she says. "I just had an epiphany."

"What?" I say.

"I love you both," she says. My stomach flies up at the words 'love you'. "I was conflicted," she says. "I couldn't pick between you and Link, and I never really chose. And then Link... And I stopped feeling," she cuts herself off hastily. "You woke me up tonight," she says. "And I decided... I love you both. In different, yet the same, ways."

"I think you're crazy," I say. "The same, but differently. Hah!" Zelda frowns.

"Fine," she says. She walks closer to me, and before I really think anything, she presses her lips to mine. I'm shocked for a moment, and then I put my arms around her. I let my senses take over. Fireworks are going off behind my eyelids, and I feel like my head is a balloon filled with helium and I'm about to fly away.

And then I remember the situation we're in, and I sober up. It doesn't matter how many countless times I have dreamed about this very thing happening... This isn't right. I pull away.

"What?" Zelda says.

"No," I say, but I can't really speak, so I just shake my head. I cough, and my voice comes back to me. "This isn't right."

"Why not?" she demands.

"This isn't how it's supposed to happen," I say.

"Why not?" she says again.

"Zelda," I say, trying to convince her. "I love you. I'm not denying that. I have loved you since the beginning. Not the _very _beginning, but for a long time. I haven't really lived in so long. For once in a long time I'm really, truly, _happy _with life. I love you so, so much," I say, surprised at my honesty. This is also the most I've ever been honest before. "But I don't think you really love me back," I say. "You're upset, and I'm here, and you might be mistaking friendship for something else."

"I'm not crazy," she says stubbornly. "I'm not going to change my mind."

"You might not," I say. "But in your current state of mind-"

"I'm not crazy!"

"-I don't think tonight is the best time to declare vows," I say. Zelda glares at me. "I'm not saying it can't _ever _happen. I'm not saying it won't. I'm saying, let's wait and see how it turns out."

"Okay," Zelda says grumpily. "Anything else you want to say?" I stare at her. Her arms are crossed, her lower lip is pouted out in anger, and there's a fire in her eyes. I smile.

"I'm glad to have you back," I say. Zelda beams, and then throws herself at me before I have a chance to react. She pulls herself out of the hug as fast as she threw herself in it, and then she picks up her guitar. She throws it in the passenger seat, and climbs in. I feel like skipping, but instead of looking like a pansy, I walk around to the driver's side. I climb in the seat, and Zelda grins at me. She turns up the radio. As I leave Lake Hylia, Zelda takes my hand. I figure, I guess, that's okay.

We're still holding hands when I drop her off at her house. They're moving soon, ready to get away from this town. They won't be moving far, though, and if Zelda and Aryll throw a big enough fit they just might stay. Now that Zelda's back to normal, she might stay.

"Night, Sheik."

"Night, Zelda." I watch her walk up to her front porch with her guitar in hand. She hesitates right before she opens the door, and then she dashes back to the Jeep. I roll down the window.

"Sheik?" she says, biting her lip.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Thanks," she says. "For... everything. For waking me up again. For making me not such a... bitch."

"Anytime," I say, winking. Zelda smiles. "Good night."

"Good night. I love you," she says, starting to walk away, but still looking at me. I roll my eyes, pleased.

"Love you too," I say. Grinning, she goes back into the house. I pull out, glad that everything is back to normal. Ganondorf is dead, Kafei is in prison, all the captives and Malon are going to be okay, Zelda is back to normal and has the locket in her possession, and I may possibly be in a relationship with the girl of my dreams. Yup. Everything is back to normal... and better than before.


End file.
